KeepIt course: revision, conclusion and evaluation

KeepIt course module 5, Northampton, 30 March 2010
Tags Find out more about the full KeepIt course
Presentations and tutorial exercises course 5 (source files)

Using copies of selected slides from the course, the following revision session summarises which tools were used and what we did with them, including a reminder of the practical exercises. Each module and tool is covered using this same basic structure.

[slideshare id=3665042&doc=keepit-course5-revision-100408064656-phpapp02]

Our final presentation from the KeepIt course sets out the criteria and context for evaluating the course. Participants attending this last course module were handed evaluation forms after this presentation and allowed quiet time before we enjoyed end-of-course food and drink. The results of this evaluation were summarised in a presentation at the European Conference on Digital Archiving (April 2010).

[slideshare id=3665193&doc=keepit-course5-conclusion-100408071350-phpapp01]

As the course ends, what can we say about the status of preservation for digital repositories? First we have to recognise that this might depend on which type of repository, or which type of software, is being considered. By Googling a series of questions for each type of repository, but not including the term ‘preservation’ in the query, we looked for highly ranked statements by repositories that made reference to preservation.

Based on this simple analysis, we end the course with the following thought: preservation is important for repositories, but needs to be connected with the other roles and activities of a repository if it is to find clear articulation and obtain proper resources.

Many thanks to all our course presenters: Sarah Jones, Harry Gibbs, Ed Pinsent, Neil Beagrie, Brian Hole, Stephen Grace, Gareth Knight, Andreas Rauber, Hannes Kulovits, Dave Tarrant, Adam Field, and Martin Donnelly.

Thanks too to all the participants who joined the course and stuck with it, and those who have followed the course on this blog. You deserve a reward – treat yourself.

That’s it; the end.