The Digital Preservation Coalition (DPC) is preparing for the return of its Web Archiving Special Interest Group (WA-SIG), with the next meeting scheduled for Tuesday 7 July 2026 at 14:00 UTC.
In one form or another, WA-SIG has been part of the DPC programme for many years, offering DPC members a dedicated space to explore the practical, technical, and organisational challenges of web archiving as a core area of digital preservation practice.
As planning begins for this next phase of WA-SIG activity, the DPC is consulting with its members to help shape the group’s future direction, format, and priorities.
A renewed space for community learning
Web archiving remains one of the more complex and fast-moving areas of digital preservation, requiring practitioners to navigate changing technologies, evolving capture methods, legal considerations, and questions of scale and sustainability. It is also an area in which community discussion and shared experience can be especially valuable.
WA-SIG is intended to provide a welcoming, inclusive, and transparent space in which Members can exchange ideas, surface challenges, and learn from one another’s approaches.
Current planning principles include:
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recognizing web archiving as a core component of digital preservation activity;
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building a supportive forum for practical community exchange;
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rotating meeting times across global time zones to reflect DPC’s international Membership;
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delivering meetings virtually in the first instance, with in-person opportunities explored where appropriate;
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and establishing the group initially as a DPC Member space.
Member consultation now underway
To help ensure that the renewed WA-SIG reflects Member interests and priorities, the DPC has launched a short Member consultation today to gather feedback on expectations, preferred areas of discussion, and practical considerations ahead of the July relaunch.
This early input will help inform how the group gets underway, with further opportunities for Members to guide and contribute to future WA-SIG activity once regular meetings resume.
Further details about the July session, including joining instructions, will be shared in due course.