DPC
iPres 2019 New Horizons Panel - Sustaining Digital Preservation in the Nuclear Field
Jaana Pinnick is Research Data & Digital Preservation Manager at the British Geological Survey and attended iPRES2019 with support from the DPC's Leadership Programme which is generously funded by DPC Supporters.
The full title of this New Horizons panel was 'Achieving criticality of preservation knowledge: sustaining digital preservation in the nuclear field'. Working at the British Geological Survey and its National Geoscience Data Centre to preserve earth and geoscience data, this session was a must for me! The purpose of the panel was to provide exchange of ideas for the digital preservation community at large to share thoughts and experiences on preserving records in the nuclear sector. The classified nature of its information makes it difficult to exchange data with the wider community.
I was glad to hear my fellow DPC scholarship winner Elizabeth Kata from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Jim Moye from J&A Preservation talk about the particular issues in very long-term preservation, but I was disappointed to hear that Jenny Mitcham from DPC was unable to join them. However, William Kilbride did his best Jenny Mitcham impression which was much appreciated by the audience!
My armchair iPRES highlights
Digital preservationists flocked to Amsterdam in huge numbers this week to attend iPRES 2019 - an international opportunity for conversations about all things digital preservation!
I was disappointed to have to cancel my own plans to attend the conference at the last minute, but undeterred, decided to engage as much as I could remotely (mostly from the comfort of my dining room...not actually an armchair). I could not miss out on potentially hearing about new theories, models, standards and examples of good practice in digital preservation.
It was great to have access to the programme and all of the papers, panel and poster abstracts online from the iPRES2019 programme and of course to be able to follow the prolific tweeting on #ipres2019. I tried to read the conference papers ahead of time, which gave context to the deluge of tweets.
So this is not your typical conference round up (no pictures of interesting sights and local food!) but I’ve instead tried to pick out some of the papers that were of particular interest to me, and to encourage you (whether you were there or not) to dive in and have a look.
DPC launches Rapid Assessment Model (DPC RAM)
Added on 19 September 2019
The Digital Preservation Coalition has launched its new maturity model, the DPC Rapid Assessment Model, at iPRES2019 in Amsterdam this week.
Designed to enable rapid benchmarking of an organization’s digital preservation capability, the DPC RAM is a digital preservation maturity modelling tool which aims to be applicable for organizations of any size in any sector, and for all content of long-term value. Developed in conjunction with the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority in the UK, and based on existing good practice, it is preservation strategy and solution agnostic, simple to understand and quick to apply.
DPC wins Best Poster Award at iPres2019 for Executive Guide on Digital Preservation
Added on 19 September 2019
The Digital Preservation Coalition (DPC) has been presented with the Jury's award for Best Poster at the international conference on digital preservation (iPRES 2019), in Amsterdam.
The winning poster presents the Executive Guide on Digital Preservation, a resource which provides practitioners with a combination of generic and specific messages and motivators designed to communicate with senior executives, legislators and budget holders, as well as decision and policy makers with a view to embedding the value of digital preservation at the core of every organization.
Sponsored by Data and Archiving Networked Services (DANS) and presented by their Deputy Director, Ingrid Dillo, the award recognizes the clear design, quality and creativity of the poster, and its supporting video.
Integrated Preservation Suite (IPS): a scalable preservation planning toolset for diverse digital collections
Peter May is the British Library’s Digital Preservation Technical Architect
Preservation planning is a long established function in digital preservation. Its purpose is to ensure that digital content can move forwards through time for future users without suffering unacceptable loss, either to intellectual content or functionality. Many different activities support preservation planning, and at the British Library this has included collection profiling, format sustainability assessments, defining digital preservation policy, content sampling, and preservation risk modelling. These activities have led to an excellent understanding of what is needed to preserve our digital content and the risks that are likely to manifest.
Missing from this picture, however, was the ability for us to put this knowledge into practice in an automated manner so that technical risks can be effectively and efficiently mitigated, at scale, and across all the collections. Our approach, formalised in our Integrated Preservation Suite (IPS) project, is our developing solution to this challenge.
Introducing the DPC RAM
“If you can’t measure it, you can’t control it.”
Martin Robb, National Programme Manager, NDA
I’ve heard this phrase several times since starting work on a digital preservation project with the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority here in the UK. Colleagues at the NDA were very keen that as part of our two year project with them, we found an appropropriate way of measuring where they are now in their digital preservation journey and establishing a clear direction of travel.
Maturity modelling was the obvious answer.
As mentioned in a previous blog post we didn’t want to re-invent the wheel, so we did some research, looking at digital preservation maturity models that were available, hoping to find one that was suitable to use in the context of the NDA.
WDPD Logos
The DPC would like to thank the following individuals and organisations for translating and providing WDPD Logos in a multitude of international languages:
Eileen Lim, Library and Archives Canada; Barbara Signiori, Swiss National Library; Rob Buckley, UAE Archives; Brecht DeClercq, VIAA; Joshua Ng; Viknesh, Asian Film Archives; Maung Okkar, Save Myanmar Film; Efi Sri Handayani, Indonesian Film Center; Lisabona, Moving Image Preservation and Presentation Consultant; Sanchai Chotirosseranee, Film Archive, Thailand; Bono Olgado, University of the Philippines; Miguel Angel Mardero Arellano, IBICT Brazil; Panagiotis Papageorgiou, University of Portsmouth; Dutch Digital Heritage Network; CSC - IT Center for Science Ltd; Ex Libris; Dr. Ramesh Gaur, Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts (IGNCA); National Library of Ireland; Akiko Kimura, British Library; Raivo Ruusalepp, National Library of Estonia; Karin Bredenberg, Kommunalförbundet Sydarkivera; Özhan Sağlık, Bursa Uludag Universitesi; Sally McInnes, National Library of Wales; Thandokazi Maceba, Digital Library Services (DLS) at UCT Libraries; Trine Kruse, Arkivverket; and Abigail Wharne, Rotorua Library | Te Aka Mauri.
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The University of Westminster joins the Digital Preservation Coalition
Added on 11 September 2019
The University of Westminster becomes the latest organization to join the Digital Preservation Coalition.
The University of Westminster Records and Archives service manages the institutional records of the University and its predecessor bodies dating back to 1838. The archives include several deposited research collections, a garment collection and a small number of rare books. The integrated archives and records management environment supports an holistic approach to digital record-keeping from the point of creation as they collect and preserve records in order to make them accessible for use both now and in the future.
DPC Rapid Assessment Model introductory webinar
Members, please sign in to watch the recording
This members-only webinar introduces the DPC's newest member benefit - the Rapid Assessment Model (RAM).
Topics include:
- how and why it was created
- who it is for
- how it should be used
- benefits for DPC members
- how to give feedback
We are joined by DPC Members who have already applied the RAM. They share some observations about the model and how it might help them move forward with digital preservation within their own institutions.
Speakers
- Jenny Mitcham, Head of Good Practice and Standards at the DPC
- Paul Wheatley, Head of Research and Practice at the DPC
DPC Inclusion & Diversity Policy
The DPC Community is guided by the values set out in our Strategic Plan and aims to be respectful, welcoming, inclusive and transparent. It encourages diversity in all its forms and is committed to being accessible to everyone who wishes to engage with the topic of digital preservation. The DPC asks all those who are part of this community and/or attending a DPC event be positive, accepting, and sensitive to the needs and feelings of others in alignment with our DPC Inclusion & Diversity Policy.