News
The University of Cape Town joins the Digital Preservation Coalition
Added on 1 October 2020
The Digital Preservation Coalition (DPC) welcomes the University of Cape Town Libraries (UCTL) this month, as they become the Coalition’s newest Full Member.
The not-for-profit DPC is an international advocate and catalyst for digital preservation, helping members around the world to deliver resilient long-term access to digital content and services through community engagement, targeted advocacy work, training and workforce development, capacity building, good practice and standards, and through good management and governance. Its vision is a secure digital legacy.
Standard Life Aberdeen joins the Digital Preservation Coalition
Added on 1 October 2020
The Digital Preservation Coalition (DPC) is delighted to welcome Standard Life Aberdeen Plc as a Full Member.
Based in Edinburgh Scotland, Standard Life Aberdeen is a Global Investment company with an almost 200-year history. The last five years have seen a focus on building an archive to manage the company’s physical records. And now, also preserving born digital records, the company is keen to move to the digital preservation phase and actively manage the records which will retain the company’s history for future generations.
Member preview of new Technology Watch Guidance Note - Preserving Software: Motivations, Challenges and Approaches
Added on 26 August 2020
The DPC has released a Member Preview of the next in its new series of Technology Watch Guidance Note on Preserving Software: Motivations, Challenges and Approaches by Sheila Morrissey today.
Preserving Software: Motivations, Challenges and Approaches identifies good reasons for preserving software, as well as a range of different challenges which may be encountered in doing so, from technical and curatorial to legal, before setting out practical approaches and case study evidence for tackling each.
The Science Museum Group joins the Digital Preservation Coalition
Added on 13 August 2020
The Digital Preservation Coalition (DPC) welcomes the Science Museum Group, as they become the newest Associate Member of the Coalition this month.
With five museums around the UK, the Science Museum Group consists of the Science Museum in London, National Railway Museum in York, National Science and Media Museum in Bradford, Locomotion in County Durham and the Science and Industry Museum in Manchester. Over several decades, the Group’s digitization programme has built up significant digital collections and the museums are increasingly having to manage born-digital content, both internally generated and acquired content.
Trends in the Use of Digital Preservation Tools
Added on 10 August 2020
More and more diverse digital material is pouring into the archives of heritage institutions, often also in large amounts. This makes automatic processing necessary. Which preservation tools are used by the digital heritage institutions? Ania Molenda, project leader of the Preservation Tools project at the Dutch Digital Heritage Network, asks this and other questions to the heritage field. She incorporated the results of her research in a report The Use of Preservation Tools among Dutch Heritage Organizations.
Australian Society of Archivists joins the Digital Preservation Coalition
Added on 4 August 2020
The Digital Preservation Coalition (DPC) welcomes the Australian Society of Archivists (ASA), as they become the newest Full Member of the Coalition this week.
The Australian Society of Archivists Inc. (ASA) is Australia’s peak professional body for archivists and recordkeepers. The ASA advocates on behalf of archivists, and the archival and recordkeeping profession as well as supports best practice standards and services. The ASA recognises the increasing demand for digital archival and recordkeeping skills in community organisations, corporate entities, and government, and the effective ongoing management of digital archives.
The Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) joins the Digital Preservation Coalition
Added on 3 August 2020
The Digital Preservation Coalition (DPC) is delighted to welcome AIATSIS as the newest Associate Member of the Coalition this week.
Based in Canberra Australia, AIATSIS is a national institution focused exclusively on the diverse history, cultures and heritage of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australia. With a growing collection of over 1 million items encompassing films, photographs, audio recordings, art and objects, printed and other resource materials, AIATSIS is developing, preserving and providing access to a national collection with the aim of promoting and enhancing the knowledge and understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, their heritage and culture.
Records and Information Professionals Australasia (RIMPA) joins the Digital Preservation Coalition
Added on 1 August 2020
The Digital Preservation Coalition (DPC) is delighted to welcome Records and Information Professionals Australasia (RIMPA), as they become the Coalition’s newest Associate Member.
As the body representing records and information management practitioners across the southern hemisphere, RIMPA actively promotes best practice, sets industry standards, and fosters professional development across all business sectors and educational institutions.
COVID-19 Inquiry: Digital by Default
Added on 23 July 2020
A letter to the Editor of the Daily Telegraph, published on Friday 24th July 2020
Dear Editor,
In the House of Commons on Wednesday 15 July, the Prime Minister committed the UK government to an independent inquiry into the coronavirus pandemic. As he stated, this will require “huge amounts of official time” as we seek to learn the lessons of the pandemic.
Both this inquiry, and any future research into the pandemic, will require significant amounts of evidence. This evidence will not be captured on paper but almost entirely as digital records: email, text messages, recordings, data sets and documents sitting on thousands of servers, with long chains of dependence upon platforms, interfaces, and applications. These records will have been created by politicians and their staff, by government officials, advisors, and by a host of individuals outside of government, including private contractors.
DPC Partnership and Sustainability Program
Added on 15 July 2020
The DPC is deepening its commitment to help members in a time of crisis.
From 1st August 2020, the DPC is launching a new support program in anticipation of the economic pressures that members are likely to face from the global COVID-19 pandemic.
As we have moved through the phases of COVID-19 pandemic, the DPC has responded swiftly and thoughtfully at each step: closing our offices before the lockdown began, moving all our operations online, launching a wealth of new resources, and opening up a new series of activities for members and partners around the Globe. We have delivered – and in many ways exceeded - the commitment that we made that our members would leave the lockdown better connected and better skilled. The DPC community is much greater than the sum of its parts, and members contribute much more than money to the cause.