International Digital Curation Conference

International Digital Curation Conference
Name	International Digital Curation Conference
Status	active
Genre	conference
Frequency	biennial
First	2007
Organizer	Digital Curation Centre
Location	Edinburgh, London, Glasgow
Country	United Kingdom

Contents

International Digital Curation Conference is a biennial forum that gathers practitioners, researchers, and policy makers in digital preservation, data management and research data services to discuss practices in sustaining digital assets. The conference attracts delegates from institutions such as the Digital Curation Centre, Jisc, National Archives (United Kingdom), British Library and international bodies including the International Council on Archives, UNESCO, European Commission, National Institutes of Health and Library of Congress. Presentations often reference projects funded by agencies like the Economic and Social Research Council, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, Wellcome Trust and collaborations with universities including University of Edinburgh, University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, King's College London and University College London.

History

The event traces origins to initiatives led by the Digital Curation Centre alongside programmes at Jisc and the UK Research and Innovation network, emerging amid debates at venues such as Science Museum, London, Royal Society and Edinburgh International Conference Centre. Early conferences featured contributions from archivists at the National Archives (United Kingdom), curators from the British Library and technologists from projects like DCC Curation Lifecycle Model and UK Data Archive. Over successive editions the conference intersected with developments including the Open Archival Information System, the FAIR principles, the Research Data Alliance, the Data Documentation Initiative and standards discussed at ISO forums, prompting sessions with representatives from European Data Portal, CERN and Microsoft Research. The history includes partnerships with professional bodies such as the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals, the Society of American Archivists and the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions.

The conference aims to disseminate best practices in stewardship as articulated by organizations like the Open Data Institute, Digital Preservation Coalition, Association of Research Libraries, Council on Library and Information Resources and National Information Standards Organization. It scopes technical, policy and social dimensions relevant to stakeholders from the Wellcome Trust-funded projects, NIH Big Data to Knowledge initiatives, and regional programmes run by the European Research Council and Canada Research Chairs. Core purpose statements align with frameworks endorsed by the Committee on National Statistics, the Office for National Statistics, and standardization pursued at W3C and ISO/TC 46.

Typical formats include keynote addresses from leaders at institutions like the British Library, Library of Congress, Wellcome Trust, Google Research and Microsoft Research, panel discussions featuring representatives from National Archives (United Kingdom), European Commission, UNESCO and the Research Data Alliance, poster sessions supported by the UK Data Service and workshops run by university centres such as University of Oxford, University of Edinburgh and UCL Centre for Digital Humanities. Formats mirror other gatherings like International Conference on Digital Preservation, iPRES, FID, and sessions often adopt lightning talks, tutorials, hackathons sponsored by organizations such as Arsenal Research, TIB Hannover, Den Haag, and hands-on labs modeled after Software Carpentry and Data Carpentry.

Sessions regularly address interoperability standards like OAIS, METS, PREMIS, and metadata schemes linked to initiatives at the Library of Congress, Europeana, DANS and Zenodo. Thematic tracks include discussions of open science endorsed by the European Open Science Cloud, research infrastructure topics aligned with Horizon 2020, and policy debates referencing legislation such as General Data Protection Regulation and guidance from Information Commissioner's Office. Other themes involve persistent identifiers promoted by the International DOI Foundation, linked data practices championed by the W3C, and reproducibility agendas shared by Nature (journal), Science (journal), and funders like the Wellcome Trust and NIH.

Primary organization is typically led by the Digital Curation Centre in partnership with funders and hosts such as Jisc, UK Research and Innovation, University of Edinburgh, British Library and regional partners including the National Library of Scotland and Glasgow Caledonian University. Governance structures involve advisory boards with representatives from bodies such as the Research Data Alliance, Digital Preservation Coalition, Association of European Research Libraries, and international funders including the European Commission and Wellcome Trust. Conference programming has been influenced by steering committees including members from University College London, University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, King's College London and the University of Manchester.

Milestones include keynote launches addressing the FAIR principles and cross-sector commitments with the Research Data Alliance, pilot demonstrations of repositories like Zenodo, Figshare integrations, and workshops that fed into national strategies at the National Archives (United Kingdom) and policy statements at UNESCO gatherings. Notable panels have featured leaders from the British Library, Library of Congress, CERN and Microsoft Research and collaborations that influenced projects such as Europeana, DANS and the UK Data Service. The conference has marked anniversaries coinciding with international forums such as OpenCon, PIDapalooza, and the International Council on Archives congress.

The conference influenced adoption of standards championed by W3C, the International DOI Foundation, and practices disseminated through collaborations involving the Digital Preservation Coalition, Research Data Alliance, Open Data Institute and national bodies like the National Archives (United Kingdom), Library of Congress and British Library. Outcomes include contributions to repositories such as Zenodo, Figshare, DANS, and policy alignments with funders like the Wellcome Trust and NIH, while advancing pedagogy echoed in initiatives by Software Carpentry and Data Carpentry and curricular offerings at University of Edinburgh, University College London and King's College London.

Category:Conferences in the United Kingdom