Every year, the Digital Preservation Coalition (DPC) invites member organisations from around the world to gather together for the DPC Unconference, where professionals working in the digital preservation sector get to set the agenda and lead sessions on topics related to their area of work. This event is for DPC Members only, and is designed to privilege operational staff working directly on digital preservation. This in-person networking event provides a fantastic opportunity for the digital preservation community to share expertise and experiences and to work together to bring about a sustainable future for our shared digital cultural heritage.
The Digital Repository of Ireland (DRI) is a long-standing member of the DPC, and this year, we were honoured to host the two-day Unconference in the beautiful rooms of the Royal Irish Academy (RIA) in Dublin. This is the first year that the annual DPC Unconference has been hosted in the Republic of Ireland. DRI Director Dr Lisa Griffith reflects on the opportunity for DRI to host this event:
"This was a fantastic opportunity for Irish DPC members to meet each other and to hear from our international DPC colleagues. There is usually a DRI staff member in attendance at the annual Unconference, but acting as hosts means more DRI staff could attend than ever before. The team made new connections across the local and international digital preservation community. It was a really positive experience for the whole team."
The programme of sessions is led by DPC members, who discussed digital preservation-related topics, demonstrated new workflows, and shared updates on new projects or recent achievements. Topics ranged from fixity file checking, file format identification, new digital preservation projects led by institutions like the Guinness Archive, new ingest workflows, appraisal of born-digital archival collections, and support for community-based approaches to archives. DRI staff members benefited from the opportunity to learn from the experiences of our peers. DRI Training and Engagement Manager Lorraine Marrey had never attended an Unconference before, and found it a very refreshing approach:
"The attendees are put at the heart of an unconference, suggesting topics for presentations prior to the event itself, and then suggesting and voting on topics for discussion during the day. These discussion sessions were open and encouraging, where advice and experiences were shared with respect. The unconference also left ample time and space for networking, chatting, or even taking a break to recharge batteries before the next session began."
DRI led a session on developing an Irish language digital preservation terminology base. DRI is working with téarma.ie (the National Terminology Database for Irish), and a wider expert advisory group, to compile a standardised set of Irish language terms relating to digital preservation. This project builds on work from a project led by archivist Niamh Ní Charra from the University of Galway, who launched the archival terminology project with Niamh McDonnell, of the National Archives of Ireland, in consultation with An Coiste Téarmaíochta of Foras na Gaeilge – the national Irish language terminology committee. This project saw over 200 archival terms entered into the Irish language lexicon. The 200 Irish language archival terms have been formally recognised by the International Council on Archives (ICA), ensuring Irish is one of just 25 languages with such a seal of approval. Among the terms are buanchoimeád (preservation) as distinct from caomhnú (conservation). DRI team members appreciated being able to receive feedback and input on the suggested expanded listed of terms from our national and international colleagues.
The Unconference sessions were followed by professional visits to DPC member institutions in Ireland, including a visit to the Guinness Archive, followed by a tour (and pint) at the Guinness Storehouse, a visit to the Irish Traditional Music Archive, and social dinners. DRI Deputy Digital Archivist Noelia Romero attended the professional visits, remarking that:
"As a music enthusiast, my visit to the Irish Traditional Music Archive (ITMA) was an extraordinary journey. Knowing the dedication and efforts of the staff in preserving traditional Irish music in analogue and digital format was truly inspiring. We were able to learn about their remarkable initiatives to digitise and make their materials accessible, and their aim of opening doors for emerging artists to find inspiration from their collections, ensuring the archive remains a living entity. Thank you for the opportunity to explore this splendid institution and for the work preserving the cultural heritage of Irish traditional music."
As the leading organisation for digital preservation in Ireland, DRI was delighted to host the global digital preservation community for an exciting two-day programme of knowledge-exchange sessions, and we look forward to many more collaborative opportunities in the future.