Preservation study of digitisation phase 2 projects
Background
In 2009, the Digital Preservation Coalition, along with the University of London Computer Centre and Portico, carried out an extensive analysis of Phase 2 of the JISC Digitisation Programme. The study examined the projects funded through this programme and assessed their plans for access beyond the existence of their project grants, with a particular focus on their digitisation preservation plans. A public version of the report with analysis is published here and a number of case studies are also in production.
Based on this assessment, the DPC ULCC and Portico made the following recommendations to JISC and JISC projects which are likely to be of immediate relevance to other funding agents. The recommendations fall into two groups. They are stated here, and explained in more detail in section 4 of the report.
Recommendations for institutions and projects
- Write and implement a preservation policy for each digital collection
- Define collection and content management procedures
- Preserve content in a suitable digital preservation infrastructure
- Identify how the collection will be sustained over time
- Recognise that accepting funding for digitisation implies an institutional commitment which outlives the period of funding
- Be clear about retention periods for different types of created digital content
Recommendations for funders
- Consider designating or establishing preservation services for content and use appropriate methods to confirm that conditions are being met
- Articulate more clearly and enforce requirements for the retention of content
- Make the long-term duty on institutions clearer
Full public report (PDF)