DPC

The Digital Preservation Coalition, with ULCC and Portico, with the support of the National Archives and sponsorship from JISC is pleased to announce the release of the second in our series of Digital Preservation Case Notes.

In this case note we examine the relationship between policy and practice in digital preservation.  The National Archives has digitised a significant volume of the UK's Cabinet Papers, using techniques and practices that they have developed over many years.  It has considerable expertise in digital preservation. However the measure of their commitment to long term preservation is not so much their undoubted expertise so much as their carefully considered policy framework for the long term management of digital resources. Funders often ask to see policy documents in assessing grant applications: for digitisation grants, or other grants likely to create prolific amounts of new and valuable digital content, it is reasonable to assess their digital preservation policies.

The DPC, with help from the Scott Polar Research Institute, Portico and ULCC, and with funding from JISC, is pleased to announce the launch of the first in a series of Digital Preservation Case Notes.  The Case Notes offer straightforward examples of organisations and individuals tackling the digital preservation challenges that come from mass digitization.  The first describes the Scott Polar Research Institute's 'Freeze Frame' project.  It makes the point that short lived projects need to do some long term thinking to ensure that the benefits of digitization are robust and it describes how a short term project negotiated its way round this long term problem.

The benefits of online access to scholarly journal content are now taken for granted but there are threats to continuity of such access.  Clarity is needed on who is doing what, what has been agreed, and what mechanisms exist for continued access, with shared responsibility for the material support and sustainability of archiving and access schemes.

The threats of digital preservation are becoming well known and the community of researchers and librarians look to policy makers and funders for assurance that archiving schemes can be made viable: that content will continue to exist. There is now growing and urgent concern about assurance of access to back content should budget restrictions result in subscription cancellations: that there is 'post-cancellation access'. Following several reports and studies a variety of archiving agencies and schemes have emerged to assist libraries and publishers manage these risks – but the options can seem confusing.

This one-day workshop, jointly sponsored by the DPC, EDINA and JISC brings together those responsible for e-journal strategy and archiving action in the UK. The aim is to share information on collaborative activities and identify basis for action at institutional, national and international levels.

The event is free of charge, but places are limited so early reservation is recommended. Priority registration will be offered to DPC Members and members of the UK LOCKSS Alliance.

Why should you attend?

• Learn about new and emerging tools for managing E-journal content.
• Help to shape policy on E-journal preservation and access.
• Share your own concerns and aspirations for preservation and access.
• Find out what other institutions are doing.
• Anticipate the evolution of a rapidly changing field.
• Contribute your expertise to the ongoing discussion.

Who are the sponsors?

• The Digital Preservation Coalition is a not-for profit membership organisation whose primary objective is to raise awareness of the importance of the preservation of digital material and the attendant strategic, cultural and technological issues. Its vision is to make our digital memory accessible tomorrow.
• EDINA is the national data centre based at the University of Edinburgh.EDINA delivers support for the UK LOCKSS Alliance, a cooperative activity by UK libraries committed to identify, negotiate, and build local archives of material that librarians and academic scholars deem significant.  It also acts as an open access platform for 'orphaned content'  for CLOCKSS (of which the University of Edinburgh is the Archive Node in Europe) and works in partnership with ISSN-IC and JISC Collections in the PEPRS and PeCAN projects.
• JISC promotes and supports the innovative use of digital technologies for the benefit of UK colleges and universities and helps to maintain the UK’s position as a global leader in education. JISC provides: a world-class network; funding for ground-breaking technical development;access to electronic resources; new environments for learning, teaching and research; guidance on institutional change; advisory and consultancy services; and regional support services.

Programme (this programme may be subject to changes)

Partnership is a critical success factor for long term access to data from small or short-lived projects. This depends on a thoughtful dialogue between the project team and their preservation partner. Thorough documentation will be required.

In this case note we examine the relationship between the relatively short lived Freeze Frame project at the Scott Polar Research Institute and the institutional repository which offered to provide long term preservation services to ensure ongoing access at the end of the project. This study shows that small organisations don't necessarily need to establish a sophisticated preservation infrastructure when they embark on digitisation and that partnerships need need to be managed but can bring unexpected benefits to both parties.

The DPC has opened a new 'Frequently Asked Questions' section of its website where members can post and answer questions on the topic of digital preservation.  Discussion around these Frequently Asked Questions have previously tended to happen on the DPC's closed discussion lists.  Putting on the website allows a wider group of people to see them and to refer back to them more easily. The new facility allows users to comment directly on the questions without having to use email.

The DPC has published its response to the recent Intellectual Property Office consultation on exceptions to copyright law with a detailed discussion of how these proposals impact on digital preservation. 

In summary, the DPC warmly welcomes the proposal to permit multiple copies to be created for preservation purposes. It notes and welcomes the proposal to broaden the types of content that can qualify for this exception and welcomes the proposal that extends this exception to a wider range of institutions.

The DPC has published its response to the recent Intellectual Property Office consultation on exceptions to copyright law with a detailed discussion of how these proposals impact on digital preservation. 

In summary, the DPC warmly welcomes the proposal to permit multiple copies to be created for preservation purposes. It notes and welcomes the proposal to broaden the types of content that can qualify for this exception and welcomes the proposal that extends this exception to a wider range of institutions.

The DPC seeks a number of clarifications to ensure that perfectly reasonable preservation actions are not inadvertently inhibited. For example the Coalition want to ensure that institutions are not prevented from collaborative preservation and is concerned that attempting to restrict preservation copying to an institution’s permanent collection may interfere with perfectly laudable and reasonable rescue and appraisal efforts.

The original consultation is online here from the Intellectual Property Office.

See the full text of our response here. [PDF 430KB]

The DPC has published its response to the recent consultation from the Department for Culture Media and Sport on 'UK Online Publications'. 

The DPC has welcomed the progress which has been made by the Legal Deposit Advisory Panel on recommendations for collecting digital material and is eager that the momentum recently achieved is maintained so that continuing progress can be made. It warmly welcomes the proposal for regulation-based harvesting and calls for early implementation of this proposal, offering the assistance of the DPC in capacity building for staff and tools which this will necessitate. 

There is a range of opinions within the DPC's membership regarding the access provisions within the Proposals. The position of the DPC itself, however, remains clear that future access to the harvested materials at any level will be impossible without the safeguards that rigorous attention to preservation provides.

The original consultation document is online at: http://www.culture.gov.uk/reference_library/consultations/6506.aspx

Click here to read the DPC's full response [pdf, 385kb].