New Members

The DPC are delighted to announce Unilever Archives and Records Management (UARM) as its latest full member. Unilever consists of several well-known brands, including PG Tips, Lux, Persil and Marmite, all of which feature in the company archive. This internationally significant collection of business records has been recognised by The National Archives as being of a high standard and has received “Designated Status” by the Museums Libraries and Archives Council.

Claire Tunstall, Heard of Art Archives & Records Management at UARM said, “Joining the DPC will allow us to think strategically and extend our purpose of preserving and conserving the archives of Unilever, including born digital materials. We hope that by connecting with other DPC members, their expertise will help us to take active steps to prevent the creation of a digital black hole within our archive.”

The DPC is delighted to announce that a major international humanitarian agency has joined as a full member. Membership of the DPC will assist in their aim of ensuring both reliable and long-term access to records for and about refugees and displaced people globally.

The announcement can be found here (members only, login required).

Digital data exists in the British Museum in many different forms, from many different sources and for many different uses. It includes digital images registered as collection objects, photographic assets of the wider physical collection, scientific and conservation data related to the collection, and archival data amongst other things.

Laura Mitchell, chair of the DPC said “The museum sector is facing a wide variety of digital preservation issues and it is therefore great news, and very encouraging, to see the British Museum joining the DPC. This significantly increases our profile in the museum sector and I look forward to welcoming many others following the example set “.

“The Museum views the sustainable management of its digital assets as an organisational priority in attaining our larger goal of being a museum of the world for the world. This aim has been supported by the Museum’s African Rock Art Image Project which is registering some 25,000 digital photographs into the collection; a first for the Museum,” explained Glenn Cumiskey, Digital Preservation Manager at the British Museum. “We view membership of the DPC as an essential step in facilitating the capacity building necessary to enable our vision.”

The University of Bath has an excellent reputation for both teaching and research and has been ranked as the UK's top university in the Times Higher Education (THE) Student Experience Survey 2015. The Library manages and maintains a diverse collection including archival resources, historical records and other publications to support the University's teaching and research activities as well as those in the wider academic community.

Kara Jones, Head of Library Research Services at the University of Bath Library said 'One of the core activities of the Library is to provide advice, advocacy, expertise and skills training in accessing and using the available information resources, which in many cases is digital. Hopefully by joining the DPC, we can benefit from shared knowledge from other members within similar Institutions to help us meet the ongoing needs of all our library users'.

The DPC is delighted to welcome the Grosvenor Estate as its latest associate member. The Grosvenor Estate is responsible for a range of activities on behalf of the Grosvenor family (headed by the Duke of Westminster) and Grosvenor Estate Trustees, in addition to the management of four rural estates in the UK.

William Kilbride, Executive Director of the Digital Preservation Coalition said “I am delighted to welcome The Grosvenor Estate as our newest associate member as it is another step towards broadening our collaboration within the business community. The Grosvenor Estate is involved in a range of activities including property management, rural land management, insurance, charitable giving, and management of a fine art collection, so these diverse elements will add to the range of expertise within our current membership base.”

The National Archives of Ireland has today joined the Digital Preservation Coalition. The DPC is an advocate and catalyst for digital preservation, enabling its members to deliver resilient long-term access to content and services, and helping them derive enduring value from digital collections. The core mission of the National Archives is to collect, manage, and preserve the public record of Ireland and ensure its long term availability as a research resource and to underpin citizens’ rights. The long term availability of the public record demonstrates transparency and accountability in the democratic process.

Speaking today, John McDonough, the Director of the National Archives noted that ‘Joining the DPC will enable the National Archives to address matters such as the capture, curation and preservation of the public record which is increasingly generated in electronic format. The National Archives will be able to leverage experience, technical knowledge and policy development from amongst the members of the DPC. Membership of the DPC will ensure the National Archives is better placed to meet the significant challenges it faces in this area.’

The DPC is delighted to welcome the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority as its latest full member.

The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority is a non-departmental public body set up to ensure that the UK’s 17 designated civil public sector nuclear sites are decommissioned and cleaned up safely and efficiently. Managing Director of the NDA National Archives, Simon Tucker recognises the enormous challenge of maintaining access to digital resources and believes “the DPC’s expertise in long-term digital information management will bring major benefits to our information governance programme.”

The DPC is delighted to welcome Loughborough University as its latest associate member. This new membership is also something of a milestone; Loughborough University is now the 50th member of the ever-growing Coalition. William Kilbride, Executive Director of the Digital Preservation Coalition (DPC) said ‘I am delighted to welcome Loughborough University as our 50th member which is an important landmark in our development and a great opportunity to celebrate our shared endeavour. Loughborough has a large volume of digital educational resources and it is wonderful to see institutions with such expertise recognising the need to collaborate on digital preservation.’

Adrienne Muir, Senior Lecturer in Publishing within the School of the Arts, English and Drama explained why Loughborough decided to join the DPC; ‘Various groups across the institution are involved in

The Bank of England Archive contains over 80,000 files and individual records relating to all aspects of the history of the Bankand its work, dating from its foundation in 1694 to the present.

“As part of its mission to promote the good of the people of the United Kingdom by maintaining monetary and financial stability, the Bank of England is committed to being open and accountable,” explains Dr. Mike Anson, the Bank of England’s Archive Manager. “To underpin this transparency the Bank of England Archive collects, stores and makes available Bank records which are of business and research value.”

“Joining the DPC is an important step towards the Bank meeting the digital challenge. We hope it will give us access to specialist knowledge and advice, the experiences of other information professionals, especially those in the business field. As a member of the board, we are also looking forward to being involved in the development of digital preservation more generally.”

The DPC is delighted to welcome the University of Sheffield Library as its latest member.

‘This is an exciting time to be involved in Digital Preservation at the University of Sheffield’, explained Tracey Clarke, Assistant Director for Academic Services. ‘We’re in the process of recruiting a new Digital Preservation Officer and are currently tendering for systems. We’re writing a digital preservation policy, establishing a collections schedule and enhancing how we handle digital research outputs.’