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• Preserving Digital Archives
• Step-by-step solutions
• Najla Semple
• Digital Preservation Coalition

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Overview

• Digital Preservation Coalition activities
• UK Needs Assessment
• Collaboration examples
• Solutions
• Where to go next

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Fuzzy end of the lollipop...
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Digital Preservation Coalition

• Promoting Digital Preservation
• Efforts aimed at ensuring digital preservation is
  on the agenda of key stakeholders. This involves
  an advocacy and PR campaign, press articles,
  conference papers, the UK Needs Assessment, etc.
• Acting to increase funding
• Ensuring the nations investment in preservation
• Fostering collaboration and forging strategic
  alliances
• With relevant agencies nationally and
  internationally
• e.g. National Library of Australia, Library of
  Congress.

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Six Work Packages

• 4. Producing, providing, and disseminating
  information
• Building expertise in digital preservation e.g.
  commissioning Technology Watch Reports and
  holding DPC forums. Developing the DPC website
  and producing quarterly reports of Whats New in
  Digital Preservation, monthly reports to members
  via Discussion lists
• 5. Promoting and developing services,
  technology, standards
• and training
• E.g. Initiating training workshops, so far held
  in Edinburgh, London and Belfast, and producing
  Technology Watch Reports, developing intensive
  digital preservation training programme
• Continuing to develop the Coalitions activities
  
• Recruiting membership and attracting resources to
  support DPCs goals

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Digital Preservation CoalitionInternal Structure
DPC Work plan
Consultancies

• Website
• Public Relations
• Tech ?
• Surveys

DPC Office
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Members of the DPC
Archives Museums Records
Libraries
Cross-Sectoral Membership
Publishing Media
Data services
Government Research Policy
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Activities Regular events

• Whats New in Digital Preservation?
• A quarterly report prepared by the National
  Library of Australias PADI and the DPC (UKOLN
  compiles this for the DPC)
• PADI, set up in 1996, is a comprehensive subject
  gateway to international digital preservation
  resources
• The reports list a summary of international
• preservation activities
• Information compiled from the
• PADI gateway and mailing lists

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Activities UK Initiatives

• Preservation management of Digital Material
  Handbook
• Developed by Neil Beagrie and Maggie Jones in
  2000.
• Online version to be developed further
• Available free at www.dpconline.org
• Used as a basis for workshops and tutorials, and
  may be used for more intensive training
  programmes
• Offers a practical step-by-step guide for
• those involved in all stages of digital
• preservation

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Activities Initiatives

• Technology Watch Reports
• These are user-friendly reports the DPC has
  commissioned experts to write. Authors avoid
  complicated jargon-filled language so that
  reports are accessible to all
• Reports focus on emerging preservation standards,
  technical formats, and developments in tools
  which are critical in assisting digital
  preservation activities
• Reports available on the DPC website
• Introduction to OAIS Brian Lavoie/OCLC
• Institutional Repositories Paul Wheatley
• Large-Scale Archival Storage Jim Linden, Sean
  Martin, Richard Masters and Roderic Parker
  (British Library)
• Preservation Metadata Brian Lavoie OCLC

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How big is the problem?

• Challenge of quantifying the problem
• Challenge of articulating the danger
• Between hysteria (Digital Dark Ages) and
• Complacency (the problem is exaggerated)
• We need some more detail
• More facts and figures on which to base
  sustainable forward plans
• Information which will engage funders and
  decision makers

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Activities Initiatives
UK Needs Assessment Exercise
MLA Funded Regional Survey (2005)
DPC Members Survey (2003)

• Map of DPC Members
• Scenarios of Data Loss

• Surveys
• Interviews
• Other Data

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UK Needs Assessment

• Building up a picture of what is (and isnt)
  happening in the UK
• Gathering data on volumes and formats
• Identifying priorities
• Quantifying the problem
• Building sufficient knowledge base to be able to
  plan effectively

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Influence over formats
Limited influence over formats 6
Able to influence formats 25
Not aware of any influence over formats 22
No data acquired from outside organisation 16
No influence over formats 31
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Some Recent Developments Trends

• Emphasis on learning by doing
• More practical projects and ongoing research to
  inform longer-term programmes
• Development of services and tools
• Emphasis on good practice in creating digital
  resources.
• Greater collaboration
• With wider range of partners

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UK Web Archiving Consortium

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Digital Curation Centre
www.dcc.ac.uk
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Digital Preservation Training Programme
www.ulcc.ac.uk/dptp
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Open-source
Open source initiative
Open source watch
Free software foundation
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Audit Certification

• Collaboration on Certification for repositories
  DCC
• E.g. certifiable emulation strategies
• Out-sourcing agencies DPC information leaflet

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Life-cycle responsibilities
Preservation specialists

Information Specialists
All Organisations
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Lessons learned to date

• We cant rely on chance survival.
• Recovery of data will always be more costly than
  lifecycle management.
• It is much more cost-effective to manage data
  from creation.
• No single organisation will be able to manage the
  vast amounts of digital resources need very
  high degree of cooperation and collaboration.
• There wont be a single definitive solution.

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UNESCO Guidelines

• 5.2.3 Responsibility
• Everyone does not have to do everything
  everything does not have to be done all at once.
• it is usually better for non-comprehensive and
  non-reliable action to be taken than for no
  action at all. Small steps are usually better
  than no steps.
• 5.2.10 Management
• 33. Waiting for comprehensive, reliable solutions
  to appear before taking responsible action will
  probably mean material is lost.

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Strategies

• Raise awareness for courses to contain digital
  preservation element
• There is knowledge in county councils
• Harnessing it
• Creating partnerships
• Shared tools and expertise

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Cornells 5 Organizational Stages

• Acknowledge understanding that digital
  preservation is a local concern
• Act initiating digital preservation projects
• Consolidate moving from projects to programs
• Institutionalize incorporating the larger
  environment and rationalizing programs
• Externalize embracing inter-institutional
  collaboration and dependency

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Where do we go from here?

• Determine whether your institution has a need and
  sufficient interest to develop a digital
  preservation program.
• Determine if digital preservation could be added
  to or derived from your institutional mission
  statement or some other mandate.
• Seek support from senior management to make
  digital preservation commitment explicit and
  ongoing.
• Have senior management formally review and adopt
  a formal policy.

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Where do you go from here?

• Promulgate and publicize policy.
• Maintain and update policy as living document.
• Develop 3-year preservation plan.
• Establish a digital preservation task force which
  includes key stakeholders within the institution.

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Resources

• DPC, DCC
• PADI
• Training programme
• DPC Contracting out leaflet
• DPC List of preservation services
• TNA - PRONOM

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Funding

• DTI
• Commercial sector ?
• Consortia approach
• Useful case-studies
• Network of contacts

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Solutions

• There are no clear-cut or definitive solutions
• Progress depends on a mix of individual
  institutional responsibility combined with
  improved coordination at national, regional, and
  local level as well as internationally
• Good practice is evolving and support mechanisms
  (e.g. DCC) are being developed
• Good planning and documentation offer the best
  prospects in the interim

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• Does it make sense to spend too much for
  perfection?
• - Clifford Lynch

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• Thank You!
• www.dpconline.org