HomeThe preservation landscape
in the UK and Ireland
Introduction
The Preservation Advisory Centre enables people working with library and archive collections to take a long-term approach to their use. It promotes the benefit of good preservation practice and provides support in the form of information services, training and preservation management tools. The Preservation Advisory Centre is supported by an advisory group, the purpose of which is:
- to provide expert advice, national and international perspectives to support the direction and operation of the Preservation Advisory Centre
- to provide a means of exchanging best practice in preservation and facilitate the development of a community of practice.
At its first meeting in October 2009 the advisory group agreed that a summary of library and archive preservation expertise in the UK and Ireland should be prepared. The purpose of this summary is to facilitate the exchange of best practice in preservation. It will also help the Preservation Advisory Centre identify opportunities for sign-posting existing best practice, for developing partnerships to take forward its work, and for spotting gaps in current provision. In April 2010 it was agreed that the summary would be of wider interest and should be published on the Preservation Advisory Centre website and updated every six months.
Methodology
This summary collates the remit, current priorities and preservation expertise/strengths of non-commercial organisations under the following categories:
1. Government departments and agencies
2. National libraries
3. National archives
4. Academic sector
5. Membership and professional organisations
6. Cultural and heritage organisations
Where possible, content has been provided by the organisation, in other cases it has been sourced from the organisation’s website.
Organisations
1. Government departments and agencies
1.1 DCMS (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Remit and priorities
The aim of DCMS is to improve the quality of life for all through cultural and sporting activities, to support the pursuit of excellence and to champion the tourism, creative and leisure industries.
www.culture.gov.uk/about_us/default.aspx
www.culture.gov.uk/what_we_do/default.aspx
1.2 The Scottish Government
Remit and priorities
The devolved government for Scotland is responsible for most of the issues of day-to-day concern to the people of Scotland, including health, education, justice, rural affairs, and transport. The Scottish Government funds national institutions including the National Library of Scotland and the National Archives of Scotland.
www.scotland.gov.uk/about/strategic-objectives
www.scotland.gov.uk/topics
www.scotland.gov.uk/topics/artsculturesport/arts/nationalinstitutions
1.3 Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure (DCAL)
Remit and priorities
In Northern Ireland DCAL it is the Government Department responsible for arts and creativity, museums, libraries, sport, inland waterways and inland fisheries, linguistic diversity, public records, and for advising on National Lottery distribution.
www.dcalni.gov.uk/about_us.htm
1.4 MLA (Museums, Libraries and Archives Council)
Remit and priorities
MLA is the Government’s strategic body for museums libraries and archives in England.
Leading strategically, the MLA promotes best practice in museums, libraries and archives, to inspire innovative, integrated and sustainable services for all. It is Non-Departmental Public Body (NDPB), sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). It is due to be wound up in April 2012. MLA administers schemes such as 'Accreditation' (museums only at the moment) and 'Designation' which aim to help museums, libraries and archive achieve excellence through highlighting best practice and supporting improvement.
Preservation initiatives
MLA supports collection management under its ‘raising standards’ work strand, for example through its funding of Collections Link.
1.5 CyMAL: Museums Libraries and Archives Wales
Remit and priorities
CyMAL: Museums Archives and Libraries Wales is a division of the Welsh Assembly Government. CyMAL represents a significant investment by the Assembly Government in the development of local museums, archives and libraries services to meet 21st century needs.
http://wales.gov.uk/topics/cultureandsport/
museumsarchiveslibraries/cymal/?skip=1&lang=en
The first National Museums Strategy for Wales was published in 2010. CyMAL administers the Museum Accreditation Standard in Wales. It contributes to the strategy 'Archives for the 21st Century' for archives in England and Wales. It was responsible for, and implements, the 'Libraries for Life' strategy.
http://wales.gov.uk/topics/cultureandsport/museums
archiveslibraries/
cymal/museums/strategy/?lang=en
http://wales.gov.uk/topics/cultureandsport/museums
archiveslibraries/cymal/archives/archives21stcentury/?lang=en
http://wales.gov.uk/topics/cultureandsport/museumsarchives
libraries/cymal/researchandevidence/lflevaluation/?lang=en
Preservation initiatives
CyMAL's Collections Adviser, Sarah Paul, is responsible for providing advice and developing policy on collections care. She also provides practical hands-on training in areas such as handling and packing museum objects. Other collections care training organised by CyMAL to date includes practical workshops in housekeeping, handling archival materials, disaster planning, museum security and care of photographs.
1.6 Heritage Council
Remit and priorities
The Heritage Council is a statutory body, operating in Ireland. It seeks to protect and enhance the richness, quality and diversity of national heritage (natural and cultural) for everyone. It works with its partners, particularly at local level, to increase awareness of Ireland’s national heritage and to highlight its importance to public policy and everyday life.
www.heritagecouncil.ie
Preservation initiatives
The Heritage Council’s main commitment to collections care comes through its support of the 'Museum Standards Programme for Ireland'. This important initiative, with participants from a wide range of Irish collecting institutions, sets out to raise standards of care across Irish museums and galleries. It also supports the 'Irish Archives Resource' portal website. The IAR is a portal web site that will enable researchers to search for publicly accessible archival fonds/ collections in Ireland, based on archival descriptions and index terms that are created in accordance with national archival guidelines and international archival standards.
www.iar.ie (Irish Archives Resource)
2. National libraries
2.1 National Library of Scotland
Remit and priorities
The National Library of Scotland will enrich lives and communities, encouraging and promoting lifelong learning, research and scholarship, and universal access to information, by comprehensively collecting and making available the recorded knowledge of Scotland, and promoting access to the ideas and cultures of the world. The NLS strategy 2008-11 is based around four core themes:
develop the national collections; develop the organisation; build relationships; widen access to knowledge.
www.nls.uk/about/policy/strategy2008.html
Preservation initiatives
The Preservation and Conservation Division (PCD) is a key department within the Library and addresses the totality of risks to the collections via a comprehensive service including a targeted group of programmes and innovations, lead by a group of committed staff with specialised and leading edge skills, to enable access to the recorded knowledge of Scotland. The PCD plays a vital role and provides a high quality interface with the users of the collections by ensuring that badly damaged items are conserved, collections at risk are appropriately packaged and that high quality images are available to increase access and reduce direct use of fragile collections in all formats. All of these specialised activities are carried out to the highest national and professional standards.
2.2 The National Library of Wales
Remit and priorities
The NLW’s remit and current priorities are set out in its operational plan
and are guided by the Welsh Assembly Government. The strategy for 2011-2014 was published in February 2011.
www.llgc.org.uk/fileadmin/documents/pdf/strategy2011-12_2013-14.pdf
Preservation initiatives
The Library’s main areas of expertise include conservation treatment, preventative conservation and digital preservation. It has developed considerable expertise in conservation treatment and provides tuition in bookbinding and book conservation for regional archives and institutions throughout the UK. Paper and parchment conservation is another area of expertise, including the treatment of loose documents, maps and prints. NLW has also developed expertise in preventative conservation, including cleaning, photographic conservation and pest management. The current conservation and preservation priorities include a review of environmental conditions to promote sustainability, a space audit to optimize current, and plan for future, space use and the implementation of its digital preservation plan, as set out in its strategy, 2008-2011.
2.3 The British Library
Remit and priorities
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of six legal deposit libraries. Its purpose is ‘advancing the world’s knowledge’. The Library recently published its vision for the next 10 years. The 2020 vision will inform the development of the library’s next strategy, covering the period 2012-15.
www.bl.uk/2020vision
Preservation initiatives
The British Library Collection Care department aims to minimise the risk of damage to the collections and to maximise their lifespan for people to use now and in the future. A combination of established and innovative approaches is used to manage the changes to the collections. Those changes can be a result of a range of factors: for example, mechanical damage as the collections are consulted or from the natural deterioration of materials.
The British Library Centre for Conservation welcomes visitors for behind the scenes tours, to complement the permanent exhibition and the events programme.
The Preservation Advisory Centre is part of the British Library, following integration of its predecessor the National Preservation Office in 2009. The Preservation Advisory Centre promotes the benefit of good preservation practice and provides support in the form of information services, training and preservation management tools.
www.bl.uk/aboutus/stratpolprog/ccare/index.html
www.bl.uk/conservation
www.bl.uk/blpac
2.4 The National Library of Ireland
Remit and priorities
The principal functions of the National Library of Ireland are:
to conserve, restore, maintain and enlarge the material in the Library’s collections for the benefit of the public;
to establish and maintain a record of library material (including material relating to the Irish language) in relation to Ireland; to contribute to the provision of access by members of the public to material relating to other countries.
www.nli.ie/en/udlist/reports-and-policy-documents.aspx
Preservation initiatives
The Library has a well equipped conservation laboratory staffed by three paper conservators and one conservation assistant. It also possesses a Kasemake CXD box-making machine which enables it to easily make archival housings. The Board of the Library approved a Preservation policy in 2009 and the Library is currently working on finalising subsidiary policies, including a Risk management policy; Disaster control plan, Preservation strategy; Annual preservation plan; Digital preservation policy and strategy, Departmental preservation policies and plans, Security policy; Conservation policy; Special guidelines on topics including storage, cleaning, prioritizing items for conservation, loan and exhibition conditions, copying and handling (see NLI website for Reader guidelines on handling rare books and manuscripts).
www.nli.ie/en/preservation-and-conservation-handling-guidelines.aspx
3. National archives
3.1 National Archives of Scotland
Remit and priorities
The mission of the NAS is to preserve, protect and promote the nation’s records, and to provide the best possible inclusive and accessible archive that educates, informs and engages the people of Scotland and the world.
The NAS is an agency of the Scottish Government, headed by the Keeper of the Records of Scotland.
www.nas.gov.uk/about
www.nas.gov.uk/documents/corporateplan2010-2013.pdf
Preservation initiatives
The National Archives of Scotland (NAS) advises Scottish government departments and major stakeholders on all aspects of conservation, preservation and collection care. Preservation, incorporating risk assessment, incident control and response, is carried out in collaboration with the Scottish archive sector. The NAS also provides interventive conservation services to support the work of the record services branches and major stakeholders. Research and collection knowledge is developed by establishing and building on partnerships with peer organisations and centres of excellence, specifically the Scottish Council on Archives and BL Preservation Advisory Centre. The NAS provides preservation advice and guidance, in collaboration with the National Register of Archives Scotland, to collections that are privately owned. Scottish ministers announced in November 2010 that NAS would merge with the General Register Office for Scotland. The organisation’s remit, priorities and preservation initiatives are likely to remain as stated here.
3.2 Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI)
Remit and priorities
PRONI’s legislative authority is the Public Records Act (NI) 1923 which enables PRONI to identify, select, acquire and preserve records, in any media, relating to Northern Ireland.
www.proni.gov.uk
Preservation initiatives
Responsibility for preservation in PRONI sits with the Preservation and Collections Management Branch (PCM). In 2010-11 the main priority for PCM, and for PRONI as a whole, is the decant and move of records, staff, and equipment to a new, purpose-built archive building in central Belfast. The move is expected to take about 6 months during the autumn and winter. Work has been in progress over the last 3 years on the physical upgrading of records and storage containers, as well as on the updating and quality assurance of location information. A new Business Continuity Plan and disaster reaction arrangements are also being developed for the new building.
The other main priority is digital preservation. A business case, which PRONI commissioned from external consultants, setting out options and recommendations, has been approved, and appropriate resources are being sought for taking forward the recommendations. Preservation strengths include disaster reaction and business continuity. PRONI was the first cultural institution in Northern Ireland to have its own Disaster Reaction Plan.
The new PRONI building will be a preservation strength, with improved storage facilities which will meet BS 5454:2000. As part of the new accommodation project, expertise has been gained in planning new storage areas and conservation and micrographics studios, as well as in running a project for the preparation and decant of records and their relocation.
www.proni.gov.uk/preservation
3.3 The National Archives
Remit and priorities
The National Archives is the UK government's official archive, containing over 1,000 years of history. It gives detailed guidance to government departments and the public sector on information management and advises others about the care of historical archives.
www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/about
www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/how-we-are-run/our-plans.htm
Preservation initiatives
The overall aim for the Department of Collection Care is to preserve the extensive historic collections of The National Archives for continued use now and in the future. To achieve this end we support a programme of preservation, conservation and conservation science research. Our aim is to support the strategic aims of the organisation, while also developing a national role. Key activities include: providing preservation guidance to staff, government departments and the archive sector generally; undertaking conservation science research to support a portfolio of interdisciplinary, collaborative, doctoral and post-doctoral research projects to provide an evidence base to inform decision making across every aspect of collection care; providing on-going support for TNA’s digitisation programme; undertaking conservation treatments on inherently unstable materials, such as tracing paper, photographs, and brittle paper (treatments are carried out on the basis of technical examination and analysis, and form an integral part of the collection management programme aimed at lomg-term preservation of the collection).
3.4 The National Archive of Ireland
Remit and priorities
The mission of the National Archives is twofold:
to secure the preservation of records relating to Ireland which warrant preservation as archives and to ensure that appropriate arrangements are made for public access to archives.
www.nationalarchives.ie/about-us/introduction/
Preservation initiatives
The work of the Archives Storage and Preservation Division encompasses a wide range of areas concerned with protecting the integrity and ensuring the long-term survival of the archives. The principal areas of work in this Division are accommodation, preservation and conservation, reprographics, document productions and returns, and disaster prevention and planning.
www.nationalarchives.ie/about-us/functions/archives-storage-preservation-division/
4. Academic sector
4.1 Research Libraries UK (RLUK)
Remit and priorities
RLUK unites 29 major research libraries in the UK and Ireland. Its mission is to work with members and with partners, nationally and internationally, to shape and to realise the vision of the modern research library. RLUK provides a framework for collaboration, a forum for promoting best practice and a vehicle for engagement with the research community. RLUK helps its members to understand the direction of travel for the modern research library, and to shape developments for the benefit of the community.
www.rluk.ac.uk/vision
Preservation initiatives
The collections held by RLUK member libraries, which include the six legal deposit libraries, are collectively of immense national significance. The individual libraries take this responsibility very seriously and most of them maintain conservation units (with appropriately qualified staff) to support their role in preservation and conservation.
RLUK recognises the strategic significance of preservation in maintaining our national cultural heritage and in supporting the needs of researchers in future generations. In response, RLUK is currently co-funding with the British Library a three year project (2009-12) around Preservation Training, hosted by the Preservation Advisory Centre.
RLUK also has a strong track record in exploring a broad range of issues around digital curation and preservation and is a member of the Digital Preservation Coalition.
www.rluk.ac.uk/node/575 (Preservation Learning Programme)
4.2 SCONUL
Remit and priorities
SCONUL promotes excellence in library services in higher education and national libraries across the UK and Ireland. SCONUL's membership embraces virtually all higher education institutions in the UK, and all universities in Ireland, together with the national libraries (both officially-designated and de facto) on both sides of the Irish Sea. Essentially it is the representative body for the directors of this broad group of libraries. SCONUL's aim is to improve library services for the users of its member libraries through
sharing and developing good practice, influencing policy makers and raising the profile of higher education and national libraries.
www.sconul.ac.uk
4.3 CONUL
Remit and priorities
CONUL is a consortium of Ireland's main research libraries. Its mission is to develop and improve the library and information services of the CONUL members through the exchange of experience and the organisation of cooperative activities.
www.conul.ie/about
Preservation initiatives
CONUL has a Sub-Committee on Preservation, established in 2001. The terms of reference of the committee are:
to advise CONUL on preservation matters, to act as a forum for the exchange of ideas and experience, to promote awareness of preservation issues in Ireland, to facilitate staff training and development in the area of preservation, to establish links with other bodies with a remit in the area of preservation, to promote cooperation particularly in the area of disaster planning and preparedness and in other appropriate areas of preservation, to promote national and international standards in preservation, to establish a briefing papers programme to promote good preservation practice, to recognise good practice in preservation, and to maintain a directory of expertise.
The CONUL Preservation Sub-Committee has been focusing on identifying the preservation training needs within Irish Libraries, and the coordination of practical workshops in a variety of areas including recently: risk assessment, diisaster preparedness and recovery, photographic collections ( identification and storage requirements), collection handling, and collection cleaning.
www.conul.ie/sub-committees-groups/preservation/
4.4. JISC
Remit and priorities
JISC inspires UK colleges and universities in the innovative use of digital technologies, helping to maintain the UK’s position as a global leader in education. JISC provides:
a world-class network - JANET, access to electronic resources, new environments for learning, teaching and research, guidance on institutional change, advisory and consultancy services, and regional support centres.
JISC supports 49 services that provide expertise, advice, guidance and resources to address the needs of all users in HE and FE. It manages and funds over 200 projects: outputs and lessons are made available to the HE and FE community.
www.jisc.ac.uk/aboutus/strategy.aspx
Preservation initiatives
Digital preservation is the set of processes and activities that ensures long-term, sustained storage of, access to and interpretation of digital information. Digital curation is an applied form of preservation that focuses on interpretation and is often (though not exclusively) used in relation to working with scientific datasets. The ultimate objective of all digital preservation activity, and the focus of JISC's work, is to keep valuable and useful digital material (increasingly online) available for future generations of scholars, researchers and other user groups. JISC runs 7 programmes under the Digital Preservation & Curation strand and supports two services, the Digital Curation Centre and the UK Data Archive.
www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/topics/digitalpreservation.aspx
4.5 UKOLN
Remit and priorities
UKOLN is a research organisation that aims to inform practice and influence policy in the areas of: digital libraries, information systems, bibliographic management, and web technologies. It provides network information services, including the Ariadne magazine, and runs workshops and conferences.
www.ukoln.ac.uk/ukoln/strategy
Preservation initiatives
UKOLN provides an A-Z list of its activities, some of which include digital preservation.
www.ukoln.ac.uk/activities
4.6 Department of Information Science at Loughborough University
Preservation initiatives
Within the Department's Information Management Research Cluster is a Preservation Management theme. This theme is a long-standing area of interest and expertise in Loughborough and encompasses the preservation of information in all forms and contexts, including the cultural and intellectual heritage, research data and outputs and national and organisation memory. Our research has contributed to knowledge and practice, particularly in preservation needs assessment, disaster management and legal issues in digital preservation. We carry out theoretical, policy and applied research in the following areas as illustrated below by the selected examples of related projects:
Digital curation, especially digital preservation - Preservation of computer games (Current PhD); Digital legal deposit; Copyright and licensing for digital preservation (AHRC): International study on copyright and digital preservation (JISC); Registries for archived electronic journals (JISC)
Disaster management policy and practice - Safeguarding heritage at risk: disaster management in UK archives, libraries and museums (AHRC)
Preservation management theory and policy - The preservation landscape in the United Kingdom and Ireland (British Library Board)
Value and impact of preservation activities - Value in digital curation decision making (Current PhD); Digitisation of research material in libraries and archives (JISC)
Collection and Preservation is a core module on the MA/MSc Information and Library Management programme; Digital Curation is an optional module
Preservation topics are also selected by students for their dissertation.
4.7 Trinity College Dublin
Preservation initiatives
Trinity College Dublin is a close neighbour of the National Library. It is home to a leading centre in library preservation. It provides practical preservation and conservation workshops for Irish conservators, conservation students, and interns.
www.tcd.ie/Library/preservation
5. Membership and professional organisations
5.1 Icon, The Institute of Conservation
Remit and priorities
Icon is the UK's leading independent charity and professional body for heritage conservation. Its mission is to improve public understanding of the social and economic value of caring for the cultural heritage and to champion high standards of conservation in the UK. Icon is a membership organisation with approximately 2500 members based in the United Kingdom and abroad. The Institute welcomes to its membership not only professional conservators but all those with an interest in the preservation of our cultural heritage.
The Institute promotes professional standards in a number of ways, for example, through its professional accreditation scheme, the development of qualifications (Conservation Technician Qualification), its Conservation Register - a service providing the public with information about commissioning conservation work - and its Work In Practice internship programme. Icon contributes to the preservation of cultural heritage through the activities of its members, its Board of Trustees and its staff. Some indicators of the preservation expertise and strengths of Icon are the membership of particular specialist groups. In addition, Icon publishes a peer-reviewed journal, The Journal of the Institute of Conservation, twice a year.
Current strategic aims of Icon are: to develop in partnership a National Strategy for Conservation Education and Skills, to develop the potential of the Conservation Register as a public service and as a resource for the profession, and working through advocacy to build a "conservation-friendly" environment in which conservators are at the heart of the creative and cultural workforce.
www.icon.org.uk
5.2 Archives & Records Association (ARA)
Remit and priorities
The ARA came into existence on 1 June 2010 as a result of the merger of the National Council on Archives and the Association of Chief Archivists in Local Government with the Society of Archivists.
This exciting new development seeks to provide coherent representation of the archives sector, a wider range of services to members and enable wider involvement in shaping debate in the sector.
www.archives.org.uk/about/about.html
Preservation initiatives
The Preservation & Conservation group is one of ARA’s sectional interest groups.
The ARA Certificate in Archive Conservation provides an entry-level, work-based course for members training within the specialism of archives conservation. A nationally recognised Certificate in Archives Conservation is awarded upon successful completion of the course.
Through its Committees, Groups and Regions the Association organises short courses, lectures and seminars on matters of professional concern. Details of these are publicised in the ARC Magazine, listservs and this website.
Most regions or sectional interest groups appoint a training officer to their committee to oversee and co-ordinate training. Training Officers are supported in their work by the Training Officers' Sub-Committee.
A recent and successful innovation has been the provision of centralised training on core record keeping skills. These having included:
workshops on preservation (2010), workshops in film & sound archives (2009-2010) and a digital preservation roadshow (2009-2010).
http://www.archives.org.uk/si-pcg/section-for-
preservation-and-conservation.html
5.3 CILIP
Remit and priorities
CILIP is the leading professional body for librarians, information specialists and knowledge managers.
www.cilip.org.uk/about-us/pages/default.aspx
Preservation initiatives
CILIP’s Preservation and Conservation Alliance (PACA) formulates policy and initiates action on issues of preservation, conservation, security and heritage whether written, visual, printed, spoken or electronic. The Alliance is a CILIP convened committee, comprising members of CILIP and invited members of other professional bodies and national institutions with a preservation and conservation role. It has identified as priority areas of work:
advocacy; buildings and storage, conservation research, cooperative preservation and conservation activities, digital preservation, disaster management, education and training, historic libraries, legal deposit and archiving, and strategic planning within the organisational context.
www.cilip.org.uk/get-involved/advocacy/information-society/preservation/pages/default.aspx
5.4 Digital Preservation Coalition (DPC)
Remit and priorities
The Digital Preservation Coalition was established in 2001 to foster joint action to address the urgent challenges of securing the preservation of digital resources in the UK and to work with others internationally to secure our global digital memory and knowledge base. Established as a not-for-profit membership organisation the coalition provides a mechanism by which members can work together to realise the opportunities of long term access.
www.dpconline.org/about
Preservation initiatives
The DPC offers a generic advice service which tries to match advice to members' needs. This includes the Preservation Handbook, Technology Watch Reports, ‘What’s new in digital preservation’, and a series of case studies. As well as providing direct help and advice, the DPC is an advocate for digital preservation and campaigns to have long term access to data taken seriously within public policy. A further key role for the DPC is to empower and develop its members’ workforces. The DPC addresses this issue by facilitating training and support activities and creating practitioner-focused material and events.
5.5 Scottish Council on Archives (SCA)
Remit and priorities
The Scottish Council on Archives (SCA) was launched in May 2002 to establish a shared vision for the future development of Scotland's archives. It is made up of representatives of the archival professions including conservation, as well as users and owners.
The Scottish Council on Archives is the lead body for the advocacy and development of archive services in Scotland. It is committed to developing a national strategy to take the archival community in Scotland forward.
www.scoarch.org.uk/home
www.scoarch.org.uk/about-us
Preservation initiatives
The SCA is currently working with the National Archives of Scotland and the Preservation Advisory Centre to support 15 Preservation Assessment Surveys to be carried out of archives in Scotland over the period 2009-12.
www.scoarch.org.uk/projects/preservationassessmentsurveys
6 Cultural and heritage organisations
6.1 Collections Trust
Remit and priorities
The Collections Trust is an independent UK charity which exists to promote the public right to engage with and benefit from collections in museums, archives and libraries. In pursuit of this mission, we promote best practice in professional collections management, encourage innovation in the use of new technologies to deliver sustainable cultural services, and where necessary represent the interests of the cultural community to Government and other industry sectors.
www.collectionstrust.org.uk
Preservation initiatives
It is our policy not to seek to hold professional expertise in-house, but to work with the community to identify, publish and broker knowledge wherever it exists. The expertise we broker may be held by professional bodies and associations, but equally it may originate in the research community or from practitioners and local groups. The scope of our interest is defined by the joint Collections Trust/BSI Publicly Available Specification 197, 'A Code of Practice for Cultural Collections Management', which advocates an holistic approach to collections development and care based on the strategic aims of the organisation. Hence our interest in conservation and digital preservation is as parts of an holistic approach to professional collections management. Critically, we do not seek to pass judgement on the quality or applicability of the resources we broker to the professional community – our aim is to support a competitive ecology of knowledge and expertise, and to provide people with the tools by which to mediate it. All of our support services, including resources, networks, events and other material relating to preservation, are available on the Collections Link website.
www.collectionslink.org.uk
6.2 Digital Curation Centre
Remit and priorities
The Digital Curation Centre is the UK’s leading centre of expertise in digital data curation. Its primary focus is the UK research community, but anyone who has an obligation to store, manage and protect digital information can turn to the DCC for expert advice and practical help. By putting effective data management into place throughout the information lifecycle you will ensure that your data will continue to work for you as productively as the research that produced them.
www.dcc.ac.uk
Preservation initiatives
The DCC assists institutions and data custodians by:
providing access to, and advice on, curation tools and resources; delivering at-cost training and network-building events; providing online services for data management planning; fostering the identification and sharing of best practice by establishing communities of data curators, and through its open-access journal; coordinating and linking data curation in institutions and national and international data centres; contributing towards the development of new and innovative standards, tools and practices; providing ongoing support in the form of an evolving range of learning resources to continually update curation skills and knowledge; offering fee-based consultancy services to those seeking more specific guidance and advice.
www.ijdc.net (International Journal of Digital Curation)
Published April 2011
