Harvard Library is proud to announce a new membership in the Digital Preservation Coalition (DPC). The DPC is an international charitable foundation which supports digital preservation and helps its members around the world to deliver resilient long-term access to digital content and services through community engagement, advocacy, training and workforce development, capacity building, research, and best practices and standards for effective preservation through good management and governance.

“The DPC is committed to supporting the international digital preservation community for the development of effective practices and highly skilled workforces wherever they are in the world,” says Juan Bicarregui, Chair of the DPC. “We are therefore delighted to forge an international alliance with our colleagues at Harvard Library, and look forward to deepening our understanding of digital preservation within the academic community in the USA as a result.”

Membership in the DPC, which is an international nucleus for the digital preservation community, is a natural extension of one of the Library’s leading values: Seek collaboration. As a DPC member, Harvard Library will work with community members around the world to sustain the longevity, authenticity, accessibility, and usability of the human record.

With an active digital preservation program since 2000, Harvard Library has a longstanding stewardship commitment to ensure current and future access to and (re)use of materials critical to the University’s research, teaching, and learning mission. The Harvard Library views digital preservation as a process of facilitating meaningful, technically-mediated human communication throughout time.

“The DPC is both a center of excellence and focal point of cooperative community efforts. DPC resources and initiatives are an excellent complement to existing and planned Harvard Library capacities and activities,” says Stephen Abrams, Head of Digital Preservation Services (DPS).  "We eagerly look forward to learning from and working with the DPC and its affiliated members across the country and around the world on grand challenges and opportunities in digital preservation."

Harvard Library’s point of contact for the DPC will be Digital Preservation Services (DPS), but all staff members of the Library can enjoy the benefits of membership. 

• To see upcoming events and activities hosted by the DPC, visit their website - and use Harvard Library as your affiliation if you register to attend.

• To learn more about taking advantage of the DPC membership, contact the Digital Preservation Services team.

• DPS will regularly circulate educational and training opportunities for staff members as they arise.