Digital Archive

Physical Documentary Archive

 Material

Archive

Geographical Remit

Digital Collecting Remit

Access and data delivery

Contact details for deposit enquires

Archaeology Data Service (ADS)

UK, international works by UK based researchers

All digital outputs from AHRC funded works, research, commercial and community works. Some HE-funded work

Catalogue online;

all data delivered online; open access with terms and conditions

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Historic England (HE)

England and territorial waters

Outputs from HE and HE-funded projects, with priority for national or regional coverage and major monuments

Catalogue online;

some images online

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Scotland and territorial waters.

International for aerial photos

Catalogue online;

images online

Museum of London

Greater London (32 Boroughs and the City)

No longer collecting digital material

Catalogue online;

some images online

?

Northern Ireland Department of the Environment (NI DoE)

Northern Ireland and territorial waters

Digital outputs from research, commercial and community works

Catalogue online; scanned file content online

 ?

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Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales (RCAHMW)

Wales and territorial waters

Digital outputs from research, commercial and community works

Catalogue online;

Images, drawings, and text documents online

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Pre-WWW Videotex Data Services and Bulletin Board Services

Pre WWW telephone and television information services that allowed a degree of user interaction and data retrieval with modem-based two way communication.

Action:

Action Most Urgent

(Action and reporting within 12 months when discovered)

Assessment Completed:

November 2017

Examples:

Prestel,

Minitel,

VidiTel and Videotex NL,

Alex,

BelTel,

FidoNet

Aggravating Conditions:

Lack of understanding;

structure of information silos;

Lack or loss of documentation;

Uncertainty about intellectual property rights;

Lack of funding or impetus

Practically Extinct: in the presence of Aggravating Conditions.

Critically Endangered: where good practice can be demonstrated.

Pre-WWW ViewData and TeleText Services where no archival agency has captured and retained the signal

Pre WWW television information services broadcast within the TV signal that allowed a degree of search and retrieval of up-to-date information, based on TeleText or ViewData technologies and variants.

Action:

Action Most Urgent

(Action and reporting within 12 months when discovered)

Assessment Completed:

November 2017

Examples:

AerTel,

Electra,

MetroText;

Antiope-based systems

Aggravating Conditions:

Lack of understanding

structure of information silos;

Lack or loss of documentation;

Uncertainty about intellectual property rights

Lack of funding or impetus

Critically Endangered: where good practice can be demonstrated.

Born Digital Images Held Offline on Portable Storage Devices

Digital images with no analogue equivalent stored offline on portable storage devices or on hard disks, especially where there is no refreshment plan or no replication

Action:

Action and Assessment is now Urgent

(Action within 12 months in presence of aggravating conditions)

Assessment Completed:

November 2017                 

Examples:

Family or personal photos;

Photo archives of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SME);

Aggravating conditions:

dependence on obsolete or proprietary formats or processes;

single copies;

no archival function;

lack of preservation capacity;

lack of skills;

single points of failure;

lack of clear stewardship or sense of ownership old or obsolete media;

lack of refreshment plan;

lack or loss of documentation;

overabundance;

primary storage is camera or phone;

Practically Extinct: in the presence of Aggravating Conditions.

Endangered: where good practice can be demonstrated.

Community Archives and Community Generated Content

Digital content generated by community interest groups with great enthusiasm but dependent on project funding and limited or no prospect for long term support after creation, and no funding to deposit in digital archive.

Action:

Action and Assessment is now Urgent

(Action within 12 months in presence of aggravating conditions)

Assessment Completed:

November 2017                 

Examples:

Data of marginalized or sub-culture groups;

one-off projects in art, heritage, environment or community development;

content from small or volunteer societies where preservation is not a core functions;

digital and digitized oral history; AV content at Glasgow Women's Library;

recordings of BME Oral history;

Aggravating conditions:

dependence on obsolete or proprietary formats or processes;

single copies;

conflation of bit preservation with logical preservation;

ill-devised funding programmes;

lack of skills;

single points of failure;

lack of clear stewardship or sense of ownership dependency on portable media;

inadequate provision or over-dependency with social media, webhost or service provider

Practically Extinct: in the presence of Aggravating Conditions.

Endangered: where good practice can be demonstrated.

Digital Materials Stored on Magnetic Portable Media

Digital materials stored on magnetic media which is more than 5 years old and which was intended to be portable (i.e. not hardwired into a server or other device) especially those for which there is no explicit media refreshment plan

Action:

Action and Assessment is now Urgent

(Action within 12 months in presence of aggravating conditions)

Assessment Completed:

November 2017                 

Examples:

Amstrad PCW Disks,

MiniDV,

ZipDisks,

floppy disks (3.5, 5.25, 8),

reel-based magnetic tape,

Older LTO (especially LTO1-6),

Digital Linear Tape,

AIT

Digital8

Compact Cassette data tapes

DDS/DAT tapes

Aggravating conditions:

Poor storage conditions (temperature, humidity, dust electro-magnetic effects);

No refreshment schedule;

Dependence on obsolete devices;

Storage media out of warranty;

Single copies;

Compression or encryption;

Lack of integrity checking;

Conflation of bit preservation with logical preservation;

exotic or non-standard connectivity;

approaching or exceeding published life cycles

Practically Extinct: in the presence of Aggravating Conditions.

Endangered: where good practice can be demonstrated.

Digital Materials Stored on Older Portable Media (Non-Magnetic)

Digital materials stored on older portable optical or solid-state (flash) based devices, especially where the media is older than the warranty and there is no explicit media refreshment plan

Action:

Action and Assessment is now Urgent

(Action within 12 months in presence of aggravating conditions)

Assessment Completed:

November 2017                 

Examples:

Flash Drives;

USB sticks;

CD;

DVD;

LaserDisc;

Magneto-Optical Disc;

MiniDisc;

GD ROM;

Mini-DVD;

UMD;

EVD;

BluRay;

HDDVD;

HVD;

Memory Cards;

SD, Micro-SD;

Aggravating conditions:

Poor storage conditions (temperature, humidity, dust);

electro-magnetic effects;

no refreshment schedule;

dependence on obsolete reader devices;

storage media out of warranty;

single copies;

lack of integrity checking;

conflation of bit preservation with logical preservation;

exotic or non-standard connectivity;

approaching or exceeding published program-erase cycles;

read disturb effects;

Practically Extinct: in the presence of Aggravating Conditions.

Endangered: where good practice can be demonstrated.

Family or Personal Records

Digital content and communications generated for personal consumption in a domestic setting and which may be of limited general interest but highly valuable to family members and genealogy

Action:

Action and Assessment is now Urgent

(Action within 12 months in presence of aggravating conditions)

Assessment Completed:

November 2017                 

Examples

childhood photographs and videos;

School or graduation photos;

Wedding photos and movies;

Electronic correspondence (email, messenger, WhatsApp);

Aggravating conditions:

storage on portable media or poor storage;

dependence on devices or processes;

dependence on obsolete or proprietary formats;

storage media out of warranty;

single copies;

inappropriate dependence on service provider;

inappropriate encryption or passwords;

lack of awareness or planning;

loss or lack of documentation;

over-abundance;

inability to act in a timely manner;

confusion over intellectual property

Practically Extinct: in the presence of Aggravating Conditions.

Endangered: where good practice can be demonstrated.

Gaming

Interactions and experiences of games and related interactive virtual worlds, representing a significant investment of skill and time by players, and significant elements of cultural interaction in the late 20th and early 21st century

Action:

Action and Assessment is now Urgent

(Action within 12 months in presence of aggravating conditions)

Assessment Completed:

November 2017                 

Examples

multiple online interactive games;

Videogames post 32 bit / 3D graphics

MUD (e.g. TinyMUD, DikuMUD,

Bulletin Board Systems

MMORPGs

Ultima Online Nexus,

The Kingdom of the Winds. Neverwinter Nights

Gaming community fora

Aggravating conditions:

dependency on gaming console

encryption;

loss or Lack of Documentation including uncertainty over Intellectual Property Rights

absence of community of interest;

publisher no longer exists;

game withdrawn or replaced;

absence of collecting mandate from memory institution;

low or medium profile;

Practically Extinct: in the presence of Aggravating Conditions.

Endangered: where good practice can be demonstrated.

Media Art

Historical interactive media arts including audio-visual installations and interactive performance technology, especially where there is an explicit hardware dependence.

Action:

Action and Assessment is now Urgent

(Action within 12 months in presence of aggravating conditions)

Assessment Completed:

November 2017

 Examples:

Works produced by media artists now deceased, such as: Jeremy Blake, Beatriz Da Costa, Heiko Daxl or Stanislaus Ostoja-Kotkowski

Aggravating conditions:

storage on portable media or poor storage;

dependence on devices or processes;

dependence on obsolete or proprietary formats;

lack or loss of documentation;

lack of capacity in gallery or collector;

lack of awareness or concern from creator;

uncertainty over intellectual property rights;

uncertainty over provenance and significance

Practically Extinct: in the presence of Aggravating Conditions.

Endangered: where good practice can be demonstrated.

Politically Sensitive Data

Digital content where the knowledge to preserve exists and there is no threat to obsolescence, but where political interests may be served by elimination, falsification or concealment.

Action:

Action and Assessment is now Urgent

(Action within 12 months in presence of aggravating conditions)

Assessment Completed:

November 2017

Examples:

Online News;

Social media and web-based campaigning;

Social media relating to 2016 UK/EU referendum;

Promises made to Scottish electorate in 2014 referendum;

US Environmental Data;

PFI Documentation in the UK;

Recordings of Leinster House;

Politwoops;

Deleted by MPs

Aggravating Conditions:

Opaque terms and conditions that facilitate deletion or obfuscation;

lack of access to web-harvesting;

significant lobby interest;

change of administration;

data resides in single jurisdiction;

Practically Extinct: in the presence of Aggravating Conditions.

Endangered: where good practice can be demonstrated.

Smart Phone Apps

Apps being created for smartphones. Many are depreciated quickly but others only live until through multiple update cycles.  Hard to maintain version control and dependent upon the whim of the company that publishes them. No clear agency with mandate to record or collect.

Action:

Action and Assessment is now Urgent

(Action within 12 months in presence of aggravating conditions)

Assessment Completed:

November 2017

Examples:

London 2012 app;

BBC Olympic app;

Apps published for Apple iOS 10 or earlier and disabled since release of iOS 11;

Aggravating Conditions:

dependence on device;

dependence on exotic or obsolete formats or processes;

lack or loss of documentation;

uncertainty over intellectual property rights;

short term contracts

lack of skills;

lack of commitment or policy from corporate owners;

legal or other IPR restrictions;

environments whose major versions change faster than typical desktop OS versions;

undocumented OS dependence

Practically Extinct: in the presence of Aggravating Conditions.

Endangered: where good practice can be demonstrated.

Unpublished Research Outputs

Data created in the process of academic research and required to ensure the reproducibility of scholarly research, and significant components of the scholarly record

Action:

Action and Assessment is now Urgent

(Action within 12 months in presence of aggravating conditions)

Assessment Completed:

November 2017

Examples:

shared research community resource eg fishbase.org;

original unpublished research data;

PhD data;

research blogs;

virtual research environments;

Research software;

correspondence between researchers;

grant proposals and agreements;

review comments;

Aggravating Conditions:

single copies;

dependence on device;

dependence on exotic or obsolete formats or processes;

lack or loss of documentation;

uncertainty over intellectual property rights;

lack of institutional mandate or capacity;

lack of disciplinary practice;

political or corporate interference;

lack of credit or incentive to share data;

short term contracts;

Practically Extinct: in the presence of Aggravating Conditions.

Endangered: where good practice can be demonstrated.

Born Digital Photos and Video Shared on Social Media or Uploaded to Cloud Services

Digital images or video with no analogue equivalent and where the only copy is online with a social media platform or cloud image hosting service.

Action:

Assessment is Most Urgent

(Action in 12 months in presence of aggravating conditions)

Assessment Completed:

November 2017                 

Examples:

Flickr

Vimeo

YouTube

Instagram

Periscope

DropBox

Facebook?

Aggravating conditions:

lack of preservation capacity in provider;

lack of explicit preservation commitment or incentive from provider to preserve;

lack of storage replication by provider

dependence on proprietary products or formats;

poor management of data protection;

inaccessibility to web archiving services;

political or commercial interference;

lack of offline equivalent;

over-abundance;

poorly managed intellectual property rights

lossy compression applied in upload scripts

Critically Endangered in the presence of Aggravating Conditions.

Vulnerable where good practice can be demonstrated.

Corporate Records of Long Duration held on Network Drives, Intranets and Document Systems

Records on internal corporate network drives, intranets or document management services where access is limited to a distinct group of users, and in which the lifecycle of the record or the business processes they support is greater than the technology on which they are created or retained.

Action:

Assessment is Most Urgent

(Action in 12 months in presence of aggravating conditions)

Assessment Completed:

November 2017                 

Examples:

Born digital records of small and medium sized enterprises;

fasting-changing internal manuals, advice or policies shared on intranets or EDRMS;

records of long-lived products and services;

Historic guidelines and manual which evidence 'best practice';

Documentation supporting long-lived contractual relations;

Online terms and conditions;

Corporate Slack channels;

Google Drives;

EDRMS;

Email;

Aggravating conditions:

lack of systematic preservation function;

lack of preservation path or plan for data;

dependence on proprietary products or formats;

poor management of data protection;

political or commercial interference;

lack of offline equivalent;

over-abundance through poor disposal or version control;

lack of capacity;

lack of commitment;

dependency on proprietary formats

loss or lack of documentation;

sector specific software or data types;

Critically Endangered in the presence of Aggravating Conditions.

Vulnerable where good practice can be demonstrated.

Digital Legal Records and Evidence

Digital records gathered or created in the course of criminal or civil investigations or presented as evidence in court proceedings.  The data may be generated though legal processes, such as legal rulings or proceedings; or may be generated externally by public authorities or members of the public. Any digital object which could be presented in court as evidence.

Action:

Assessment is Most Urgent

(Action in 12 months in presence of aggravating conditions)

Assessment Completed:

November 2017                 

Examples:

CCTV;

Email;

Public Enquiry Evidence;

Online Terms and Conditions;

Police records;

Court records;

Text messages.

Aggravating conditions:

risk of falsification;

fragile or obsolete media;

dependence on proprietary formats or products;

lack or loss of documentation;

inaccessible to web harvesting technologies;

lack of version control;

lack of integrity checks or integrity records;

poor chain of custody

Critically Endangered in the presence of Aggravating Conditions.

Vulnerable where good practice can be demonstrated.

Digital Music Production and Sharing

Digital music, especially components used in the production or informal sharing of digital music. 

Action:

Assessment is Most Urgent

(Action in 12 months in presence of aggravating conditions)

Assessment Completed:

November 2017                 

Examples:

Digital Music Scores;

MaxMSP Patches;

Community-based music sharing and tracking;

Fan and community fora;

Pre-production notes;

Demo recordings;

Soundcloud;

Aggravating conditions:

fragile or obsolete media for offline content;

service provider preservation capability for online content;

dependence on proprietary formats or products;

lack or loss of documentation;

Uncertainty over intellectual property rights;

lack of version control;

lack of policy or mandate,

Critically Endangered in the presence of Aggravating Conditions.

Vulnerable where good practice can be demonstrated.

Digital Radio Recordings

Master recordings of radio broadcasts generated live but often poorly stored thereafter.

Action:

Assessment is Most Urgent

(Action in 12 months in presence of Aggravating Conditions)

Assessment Completed:

November 2017           

Examples:

Offline recordings on single LTO (Linear Tape Open) Tapes

Aggravating conditions:

lack of archival mandate;

lack of capability of archive;

lack of policy or capacity within broadcaster;

small or unprofitable broadcaster;

concern over intellectual property rights; overzealous rights management protection;

device or software dependence;

dependence on proprietary or obsolete formats;

lack or loss of documentation

little use or inaccessibility;

storage (typically tapes) older than warranty;

lack of media refreshment plan;

lack of error or integrity checking process;

single copies;

Critically Endangered in the presence of Aggravating Conditions.

Vulnerable where good practice can be demonstrated.

Orphaned Digital Works: digital materials where copyright cannot be traced

Materials where copyright is uncertain, disputed or unknowable meaning that preservation actions are constrained or prevented

Action:

Assessment is Most Urgent

(Action in 12 months in presence of Aggravating Conditions)

Assessment Completed:

November 2017           

Examples:

Part Two of the BBC Domesday Book;

Websites outside of legal deposit mandate where the copyright owner cannot be traced;

Aggravating conditions:

rights management software and encryption;

lack of enabling preservation regime;

lack of ownership;

lack of preservation path or plan for data;

dependence on proprietary products or formats;

poor management of data protection;

political or commercial interference;

lack of capacity or commitment;

dependency on proprietary or obsolete formats; dependency on proprietary or obsolete process;

loss or lack of documentation;

uncertainty over contents;

encryption;

Critically Endangered in the presence of Aggravating Conditions.

Vulnerable where good practice can be demonstrated.

Published Research Outputs

Published outputs created by researchers to present and disseminate their findings electronically, especially through established platforms like journals, theses and monographs.

Action:

Assessment is Most Urgent

(Action in 12 months in presence of Aggravating Conditions)

Assessment Completed:

November 2017     

Examples:

EBooks

Electronic Journals

E-theses

Electronic Monographs

Aggravating conditions:

lack of identified 'keeper' for material falling outside of collecting mandates;

lack of capability of designated 'keeper';

lack of policy or capacity within research libraries;

lack of disciplinary repository;

lack of understanding within discipline;

small or unprofitable publishers;

concern over intellectual property rights; overzealous rights management protection;

device or software dependence;

dependence on proprietary or obsolete formats;

lack or loss of documentation;

little use or inaccessibility;

political or corporate interference;

inaccessible to web harvesting technologies;

Critically Endangered in the presence of Aggravating Conditions.

Vulnerable where good practice can be demonstrated.

Records of Long Duration from Local Government or Other Government Agencies

Born digital records of local and small or medium-sized public authorities, held on internal network drives, intranets or document management services where access is limited to a distinct group of users, and in which the lifecycle of the record or the business processes they support is greater than the technology on which they are created or retained.

Action:

Assessment is Most Urgent

(Action in 12 months in presence of aggravating conditions)

Assessment Completed:

November 2017                 

Examples:

Born digital records of small and medium-sized agencies;

fasting-changing internal manuals, advice or policies shared on intranets or EDRMS;

records of care services,

historic guidelines and manuals which evidence 'best practice at the time';

Documentation supporting long-lived contractual relations like Public Finance Initiatives;

Organisational Slack channels;

Google Drives;

EDRMS;

Email.

Aggravating conditions:

lack of capacity in preservation function;

shallow political commitment;

perception of ‘back-office’ function;

lack of preservation path or plan for data;

dependence on proprietary products or formats;

poor management of data protection;

political or commercial interference;

lack of offline equivalent;

over-abundance through poor disposal;

lack of commitment from senior management;

dependency on proprietary formats;

loss or lack of documentation;

lack of sensitivity-control;

Critically Endangered in the presence of Aggravating Conditions.

Vulnerable where good practice can be demonstrated.

Materials Posted to Current Web-based Social Media Platforms or Equivalents

Data generated on web-based social interaction services with asymmetrical terms and conditions and depending on the business model of a single corporate service provider which is in good health but no requirement to preserve. Often provided at no cost to users.

Action:

Assessment is Urgent (Within 2 years)

Assessment Completed:

November 2017           

Examples:

Facebook posts

Twitter

WhatsApp Messages

SnapChat Messages

Slack Channels

Online political campaigns

Blogs and blog comments

Online discussion fora

Online communities

Aggravating conditions:

lack of preservation capacity in supplier;

lack of preservation commitment at or incentive for social media companies;

dependence on proprietary products or formats;

poor management of data protection;

inaccessibility to web archiving services;

political or commercial interference;

lack of offline equivalent;

encryption;

infrequent access;

conflation of preservation and access;

political or commercial interference

Endangered in the presence of Aggravating Conditions.

Lower Risk where good practice can be demonstrated.