This blog post was co-authored by James Mortlock, Jennifer Febles, Jennifer Pearson, Katie Kettle: the Digital Archives team at HSBC
HSBC's archive is a well-established global department within the Group Brand function. Founded in Hong Kong in 1865, our bank’s collections go back as far as the late 18th century and include many predecessor organisations. While we have physical archival storage vaults in London, Hong Kong, and Paris, our expanding digital collections are housed in a global digital archive repository. This repository safeguards both born-digital and digitised records from our rich history.
The bank has been creating digital records since the late 1960s, but the first digital files in our archive date from the late 1980s. Our digital preservation journey kicked off in 2012, leading to the launch of our Preservica-based digital repository in 2015. Since then, we've grown our digital collections, implemented our first digital preservation policy, and launched the HSBC History website in 2021. This website, powered by our digital archive system, draws its content from this robust platform. In 2023, we transitioned to a cloud-based digital repository, and our collections have now expanded to nearly 200,000 digital objects.
We see World Digital Preservation Day as an opportunity to engage more directly with our colleagues across the bank. We aim to raise awareness about our efforts & advancements, while also helping them understand the value of digital preservation in safeguarding their own memories and files, both professionally and personally.
To mark this year’s World Digital Preservation Day, we're hosting a hands-on event at HSBC's headquarters at 8 Canada Square in Canary Wharf, London. We'll be stationed just outside the main staff restaurant from 11.30 am to 2.30 pm, reaching out to the thousands of colleagues working in the building.
We will be hosting a pop-up stand and small exhibition offering:
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Practical tips for colleagues to safeguard their own digital footprint and personal memories.
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Insights into how we protect HSBC’s vast digital archives for the long term.
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A dose of nostalgia! We’ll be showing some retro tech and classic games to remind us how far technology has come — and how important it is to preserve the journey.
This World Digital Preservation Day, we're taking time to reflect on the significance of keeping both the bank's and our colleagues' digital past alive. It's not just about good records governance, nor is it just an exercise in nostalgia; it's about ensuring these records remain accessible, trustworthy, and ready to inform the future. We're excited to chat with our colleagues about preserving over 15 terabytes of HSBC's digital history - a living record of decisions, innovations, and milestones that shape our organisational identity. We'll also share how they can protect their own memories - keeping their knowledge, context, and creativity alive.
Happy World Digital Preservation Day!