International Conference on Digital Preservation

International Conference on Digital Preservation
Name	International Conference on Digital Preservation
Status	active
Genre	Technology conference
Frequency	annual
Venue	varies
First	1990s
Organizer	international consortiums
Participants	archivists, librarians, technologists

Contents

International Conference on Digital Preservation is a recurring international forum bringing together archivists, librarians, technologists, policymakers, and scholars to address challenges in safeguarding digital heritage. The conference has convened participants from institutions such as the Library of Congress, UNESCO, National Archives and Records Administration, British Library, and European Commission, and has featured collaborations with organizations including International Council on Archives, International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions, IEEE, and Internet Archive.

History

The conference emerged in the 1990s alongside initiatives at the Library of Congress, National Archives of Australia, British Library, National Diet Library (Japan), and European Commission research programs that responded to early digital preservation crises documented by reports from UNESCO, International Telecommunication Union, and projects like LOCKSS and PREMIS. Early gatherings drew speakers from Stanford University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University, Princeton University, Yale University, University of Oxford, and University of Cambridge and engaged with standards bodies such as ISO, NARA, DPC (Digital Preservation Coalition), and RLG (Research Libraries Group). Over time the conference intersected with major events and initiatives including the World Summit on the Information Society, W3C, Dublin Core Metadata Initiative, and research funded by European Research Council and national science agencies like the National Science Foundation.

Themes typically cover technical, legal, institutional, and sociocultural dimensions, reflecting work at institutions like the Smithsonian Institution, Getty Research Institute, Wellcome Trust, British Museum, and National Library of France (Bibliothèque nationale de France). Sessions address standards and frameworks such as OAIS (Open Archival Information System), PREMIS, Dublin Core, METS, and protocols from W3C and IETF. Technical tracks often feature presentations on formats and tools from projects including LOCKSS, Archivematica, Rosetta (software), BitCurator, and Fedora Commons, with case studies involving YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Internet Archive, and national legal deposit initiatives by the National Library of Australia and Bibliothèque nationale de France.

The conference is organized by rotating hosts drawn from bodies such as the Digital Preservation Coalition, International Council on Archives, UNESCO, Library of Congress, British Library, National Archives (United Kingdom), National Archives and Records Administration, European Commission directorates, and university centers like the Digital Preservation Department at Harvard Library and Oxford Internet Institute. Governance models reflect practices from ISO, W3C, IETF, and consortiums like Internet Archive and Research Libraries UK, with program committees composed of representatives from European Research Council projects, national archives, and foundations including the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and Wellcome Trust.

Proceedings have been published in partnership with academic publishers and repositories including Springer, Elsevier, ACM Digital Library, IEEE Xplore, Zenodo, and HAL (open archive), and have been indexed alongside conferences such as iPRES, ECDL (European Conference on Research and Advanced Technology for Digital Libraries), JCDL (Joint Conference on Digital Libraries), DH (Digital Humanities), and Open Repositories. Notable conference venues have included institutions like the British Library, Library of Congress, National Archives (United Kingdom), Bibliothèque nationale de France, State Library of Victoria, Tokyo National Museum, and universities such as University College London and McGill University.

The conference has influenced adoption of standards such as OAIS (Open Archival Information System), PREMIS, and Dublin Core across institutions including the Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, British Library, and Bibliothèque nationale de France. It has catalyzed tools and projects like LOCKSS, Archivematica, BitCurator, and shaped policy dialogues involving UNESCO, European Commission, Council of Europe, and national cultural ministries. Cross-disciplinary collaborations with W3C, IETF, IEEE, and academic centers at MIT, Stanford University, University of Oxford, and University of Cambridge have advanced research on file formats, emulation, ingest workflows, and provenance, informing initiatives like national legal deposit reforms in Australia, France, and the United Kingdom.

Category:Digital preservation conferences