DPC and the British Library Preservation Advisory Centre are pleased to report that, with the help of the Public Records Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI), we’ve been able to add another date to the popular ‘Getting Started in Digital Preservation’ Roadshow. We’ll be stopping at PRONI's offices in in Belfast on 10th July.

http://www.dpconline.org/events/details/56-getting-started-in-digital-preservation?xref=64

Our generation has invested as never before in digital resources and we've done so because of the opportunity they bring. Digital collections have grown in volume, complexity and importance to the point that our children are baffled by the inefficiencies of the analogue age. Pervasive, fluid and vital: digital data is a defining feature of our age. Industry, commerce, government, law, research, health, social care, education, the creative industries, the heritage sector and private life depend on digital materials to satisfy ubiquitous information needs and expectations. But digital objects are fragile: at risk of loss, corruption or obsolescence, not to mention unlawful alteration or theft. Digital preservation – the series of managed activities necessary to ensure that digital materials remain accessible beyond the limits of obsolescence - is an issue which all organisations, particularly in the knowledge sector, will need to address sooner or later.  Collection managers need digital preservation skills to ensure access to their growing digital collections, but training in these new skills can be hard to acquire.

This day long introduction assumes no prior knowledge except a willingness to engage with digital preservation.  Through a series of presentations, case studies and exercises, participants will learn how to apply techniques of assessment, risk management and planning to help secure their digital collections.

Presentations and exercises will help participants:

• Understand the range of issues associated with digital preservation
• Survey and characterize a digital collection
• Undertake preliminary risk assessment to manage their own digital collections
• Understand preservation planning and write a basic preservation plan
• Meet and network with others locally working in digital preservationWho should come?

This workshop will interest:

• Collections managers, librarians, curators and archivists in all institutions
• IT managers in memory institutions
• Records managers in institutions with a need for long-lived data
• CIO’s in organisations with commercial intellectual property
• Students and researchers in information science and related fields
• Researchers with interests in research data management

Places are strictly limited and should be booked in advance.  Registration will close one week before the event and early booking is recommended as we expect these events will be popular.  Registration is free for DPC members.  Registration for non-members costs £20 per person. Register online for your choice of location:

• Glasgow 10th April (sold out)
• London 13th May (sold out)
• Aberystwyth 6th June (9 places remaining)
• Belfast 10th July (registration now open)

We’ll publish the slides after each event and will tweet live from the event using the hashtag #dpcblpac In addition we are considering running the event later in the year at additional venues.  So if you are interested in coming but can’t make it we’d still like to hear from you.