Saving the digital decade: DPC awards organizations helping to safeguard our digital memory At a prestigious ceremony on Monday evening the Digital Preservation Coalition (DPC) celebrated its tenth anniversary by recognising initiatives and individuals from around the world that have made an outstanding contribution to safeguard digital resources for the future.
At the DPC's Digital Preservation Awards, which took place at the Wellcome Collection in London, three agencies received awards for their exceptional contribution to ensuring the long-term security of digital collections: the University of London Computer Centre for their pioneering and popular 'Digital Preservation Training Programme'; the PLANETS project for its ground-breaking and innovative technologies; and the Archaeology Data Service at the University of York for its outstanding work securing valuable but vulnerable research data. The three awards were presented this year were: 1. The DPC Decennial Award for an outstanding contribution to digital preservation 2. The DPC Award for Teaching and Communications 3. The DPC Award for Research and Innovation The Award for Teaching and Communications was presented by Oliver Morley, Chief Executive of the National Archives to a small team from the University of London Computer Centre who run the Digital Preservation Training Programme (DPTP) - an entry-level, introductory course that develops critical thinking about digital preservation. It is designed to help all working in information management to understand effective approaches to the challenges of digital preservation, and enables students to assess the models and examples in the context of their own organisations. The Award for Research and Innovation was presented by Martyn Harrow, Chief Executive of JISC to the PLANETS project. PLANETS brought together memory institutions, small businesses, major technology providers, and research institutions from across Europe to build practical services and tools to help ensure long-term access to digital cultural and scientific assets. It established the not-for-profit Open Planets Foundation to provide the digital preservation community with services, ongoing support, and a sustainable future for its Open Source results. It advanced the state-of-the-art in digital preservation and has permanently changed the digital preservation landscape by shifting the focus to practical, sustainable solutions that are soundly supported by practice-driven research. The DPC's most prestigious prize - the Decennial Prize - is awarded specially to mark the tenth anniversary of the founding of the DPC and it recognizes the most outstanding work over the decade that the DPC has existed. An intense international competition followed and finalists from New York, Washington and London were selected after a painstaking assessment by an expert panel. But when Dame Lynne Brindley announced the winner this evening, it was the Archaeology Data Service at the University of York that came out on top. The Archaeology Data Service is an innovative group based in the Archaeology Department of the University of York. ADS has developed and thrived with an innovative business model that allows it to preserve an extraordinary range of data while providing free access to all comers. It ensures the longevity of data that would rapidly be lost or obsolete, and it has an impressive track record of research and innovation. William Kilbride, Executive Director of the DPC said: "These awards are important in showcasing the creative solutions that have been developed towards digital preservation. Digital preservation is critical. We know that significant parts of the economy, industry, research, government and the public life depend on the opportunities information technology creates, but the rapid churn in technology means data is also surprisingly fragile. We are the first generation that's had to think about handing on a digital legacy, so we need to act quickly to develop the skills and techniques that will ensure our legacy is protected." The contributions of nine other exceptional finalists were also marked in the ceremony hosted by Richard Ovenden, Chair of the DPC and Deputy Director of the Bodleian Libraries at University of Oxford, one of the world's premiere memory institutions. It is one of many agencies that have joined the Digital Preservation Coalition to help develop the new skills necessary to preserve their growing digital collections. In different ways, the winners and finalists of the Digital Preservation Awards demonstrate an unassuming creativity that not only deserves to be better known and celebrated: it will be vital for the on-going exploitation of high value data. -- Dr William Kilbride FSA Executive Director Digital Preservation Coalition @WilliamKilbride 44 (0)141 330 4522 http://www.dpconline.org/ will...@dpconline.org The information contained in this e-mail is confidential and may be privileged. If you have received this message in error, please notify us and remove it from your system. The contents of this e-mail must not be disclosed or copied without the sender's consent and does not constitute legal advice. We cannot accept any responsibility for viruses, so please scan all attachments. The statements and opinions expressed in this message are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the DPC. 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