The Digital Preservation Coalition is delighted to announce the launch of the Digital Preservation Awards 2012.

‘Threats to the digital estate are distinctive and new so the tools and processes necessary to ensure long term access – and impact – are also new’, explained William Kilbride of the DPC. ‘The DPC was established in 2002 to help agencies meet this new and growing challenge, and in 2004 we sponsored a small prize to mark outstanding contributions to the field.  It was so popular that we’ve offered the prize every other year since, and each time the quality and number of nominations has grown.

‘This year, the award takes a new form. In the past a single award was offered as one of the Conservation Awards.  But because 2012 is the tenth anniversary of the founding of the DPC, we’re offering 4 separate prizes, including a special ‘DPC Decennial Prize’ for the most outstanding contribution to digital preservation in the last decade.  There are also prizes for ‘Teaching and Communication’ and for ‘Research and Development’ as well as an innovative Digital Preservation Challenge being offered via the Open Planets Foundation.’

‘We’re calling on all our friends and colleagues - the whole digital preservation community - to help us get the best possible set of applications.’

‘The criteria are defined broadly, encompassing any initiative that has helped ensure ‘our digital memory is available tomorrow’, and although the DPC’s membership is in the UK and Ireland, this is an international competition.  We encourage all manner of proposals – projects, services, ideas, books, methodologies, standards, working groups and campaigns: all are welcome.’

The application pack is available online at: http://www.dpconline.org/advocacy/awards

The current holders are Los Alamos National Laboratory and Old Dominion University, who won the prize in 2010 for the Memento Project.  Other previous winners include the UK National Archives and the PREMIS Working Group.

Applications are due by the 17th August at which point they will be scrutinised by a judging panel drawn from the DPC membership.  A shortlist will  be announced in October and DPC members will be invited to vote for their favourite project. The winner unveiled at a special ceremony in London on 3rd December.