The theme of the conference this year was an apt, ‘Where We’re At: Digital Preservation in Uncertain Times’. In order for digital preservation to be successful, the practice requires an environment of stability and the ability to make long-term plans. Proposals were invited to grapple with how we can work in times of chaos and uncertainty.
A particular few encouraged focuses were how organisations are considering succession and contingency planning for collections, and how people are finding the resources to continue the work when they are becoming more difficult to procure. There’s a high level of emotional labour needed to succeed in the current climate, and a strong community is growing increasingly necessary. We all feel it, and this conference was a great opportunity to celebrat…
The theme of the conference this year was an apt, ‘Where We’re At: Digital Preservation in Uncertain Times’. In order for digital preservation to be successful, the practice requires an environment of stability and the ability to make long-term plans. Proposals were invited to grapple with how we can work in times of chaos and uncertainty.
A particular few encouraged focuses were how organisations are considering succession and contingency planning for collections, and how people are finding the resources to continue the work when they are becoming more difficult to procure. There’s a high level of emotional labour needed to succeed in the current climate, and a strong community is growing increasingly necessary. We all feel it, and this conference was a great opportunity to celebrate their efforts while in the midst of it.
Previously, I had worked on the NDSA Conference in St Louis, and again in the working group for their 2023 Storage Survey. I have always appreciated the flexibility of the meetings for the NDSA working groups, and the community feel they bring. Based in Europe, it’s great to be included in something based in the US. As the conference theme insists, it’s trying times.
I was part of the communications team, where we drafted and disseminated notices to advertise the conference, the call for papers, and the registration. We communicated as a sub-group over email, but had monthly meetings as a larger group to keep on top of things. The conference co-Chairs (John Dewees, University of Rochester, Thomas Pulhamus, University of Delaware, and Bethany Scott, Yale University Library) brilliantly oversaw the running of these and made sure any questions were quickly answered and any gaps were filled.
We had assigned sections of the proposals to review, and I got a great selection where every piece was a great submission. Sometimes, when reviewing, you can come across something you have to note you’re not entirely clear on, and can suggest a different reviewer, or the submitter hasn’t fully matched the brief. But in this case, all the submissions were presentations I hadn’t come across before, and fit the theme of the conference to the letter. This conference provided a great opportunity for people to submit case studies from within their organisation, and personally, I’m a huge fan of these in conferences. Whether this stems from genuine nosiness, wanting to cheer on the underdog, or if my role as the Community Officer at the OPF naturally guides my interest towards the inner workings of organisations, I am unsure. Regardless, this conference set the stage for just that.
Due to a pre-approved absence, I was unable to attend the conference as it ran, which I was gutted about. But I am still really grateful to have been a part of the organising committee, and hope to have the opportunity to participate again in the future. I always learn a lot from the opportunity to get involved in these working groups. I mentioned something similar in a reflection from earlier this year, when working in a group on the most recent NDSA Storage Survey Report, that these international groups reinforce the value of collaboration and the impact that collective effort can have in shaping solutions. I am happy to stand by this, still.