Mind the Gap: Assessing Digital Preservation Needs in the UK

TitleMind the Gap: Assessing Digital Preservation Needs in the UK
Publication TypeBook
Year of Publication2006
AuthorsWaller, M., & Sharpe R.
PublisherDigital Preservation Coalition
CityYork, United Kingdom
Keywordssg_data_preservation
Abstract

In 2006, the DPC published the results of a major Needs Assessment exercise aimed to gather and collate a picture of the status quo in the UK with regard to digital preservation; to assess and develop a clear way forward; and, last but not least, to communicate that message to a wide and diverse audience, including those who may not have considered that digital preservation was part of their remit. This needs assessment culminated three years later in a report, Mind the Gap: assessing digital preservation needs in the UK. The report was launched at the Houses of Parliament on 15 February 2006 by Andrew Stott, Deputy Chief Information Officer & Head of Service Transformation, E-Government Unit.

URLhttp://www.dpconline.org/component/docman/doc_download/340-mind-the-gap-assessing-digital-preservation-needs-in-the-uk

Gap Area Study Type:

Purpose: 
A study carried out for the Digital Preservation Coalition (DPC) to reveal the extent of the risk of loss or degradation to digital material held in the UK's public and private sectors
Method: 
Surveyed 900 individuals from a wide range of organisations in different sectors. The selected individuals all had an assumed interest in digital preservation as part of their professional responsibilities, and included a range of roles including records managers, archivists, librarians, but also IT managers and data producers. 104 responses were received, giving a good response rate of over 10%. These included respondents from education, libraries, archives, museums, local and central government bodies, scientific research institutions, and from organisations in the pharmaceutical, financial, manufacturing and engineering, media, energy and chemical, and publishing sectors. Note: Discusses duration for keeping data.