Cynde Moya, Postdoctoral Fellow at Swinburne University of Technology
For World Digital Preservation Day we are thrilled to announce that our ARC LIEF (Australian Research Council - Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities) application "The Australian Emulation Network Phase 2 - Extending the Reach" has been funded.
Our requested budget was $569,681 AUD, and we have received $544,947 AUD, so a bit above 95% of our request. This is above the average return rate for approved applications of 93.2%.
The link to the full selection report is https://www.arc.gov.au/funding-research/funding-outcome/selection-outcome-reports/linkage-infrastructure-equipment-and-facilities-selection-report-funding-commencing-2025#summary-of-outcomes
The Australian Emulation Network Phase 2 builds on Phase 1, a two-year project which is bringing together 15 Australian Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museums (GLAM) institutions to train in disk imaging; emulation (using Australian Emulation-as-a-Service Infrastructure (AusEaaSI)) and providing reading room access to live emulations using web browser tools. This first project targeted institutions holdings in five domains: media arts, architecture and industrial design, games and apps, AR/VR, and web and pre-web networking. The GLAMs involved include Swinburne University of Technology, the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI), Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW), RMIT Design Archives, State Library of New South Wales (SLNSW), State Library of South Australia (SLSA), University of Melbourne, University of South Australia, University of New South Wales, Griffith University Art Museum (GUAM), Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences (Powerhouse), National Archives of Australia (NAA), National Library of New Zealand (NLNZ), and several NSLA libraries.
The new team in Phase 2 brings together most of the rest of the major Australian GLAM institutions: Swinburne University of Technology, RMIT University, The University of Melbourne, University of South Australia, The University of Sydney, Charles Sturt University, The University of Queensland, National Museum of Australia, National and State Libraries Australasia, National Film and Sound Archive of Australia, National Archives of Australia, Tweed Regional Museum, Queensland State Archives, Australian Museums and Galleries Association Victoria. The "Other Organizations" are Australian Digital Alliance and Australian Libraries and Archives Copyright Consortium to help with legal and copyright issues; Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa as an observer, and AARNET as technical contractor.
Phase two will carry on building a community of practice around software preservation, emulation, and access. Centred on AusEaaSI, the project combines technical training with a group discussion among the participants, where we share knowledge and techniques, building skills and confidence. With this training, complex digital objects in collections now trapped on obsolete media will be imaged, appraised, emulated, and made available to archivists and researchers for generations to come.