***With Apologies for Duplication***


RLG is very pleased to announce the launch of a new initiative in digital
preservation:  ERPANET (Electronic Resource Preservation and Access
NETwork).  This is an exciting new effort funded by the European
Commission, that will create a European consortium whose role will be to
provide a virtual clearinghouse and knowledge-base on state-of-the-art
developments in digital preservation.  Additionally, the consortium will
transfer expertise among individuals and institutions as well as develop 
an
online and physical community focused on preservation.

The University of Glasgow (Dr Seamus Ross) and its partners the
Schweizerisches Bundesarchiv (Switzerland) (Niklaus Bütikofer),
Rijksarchiefdienst(Netherlands) (Hans Hofman), and the University of 
Urbino
(Italy) (Maria Guercio) will lead this initiative.

For more information, go to the project website at:  www.erpanet.org or 
see
below for further details.

Robin L. Dale
Program Officer
RLG
1200 Villa Street
Mountain View, CA  94041
USA
Email:  [log in to unmask]
http://www.rlg.ac.uk/longterm/

______________________________________________


What is ERPANET?

The ERPANET Project (an EU funded collaboration between HATII at the
University of Glasgow, Schweizerisches Bundesarchiv (Switzerland),
Rijksarchiefdienst (Netherlands), and the University of Urbino (Italy))
will make viable and visible information, best practice, and skills
development in the area of digital preservation of cultural heritage and
scientific objects. ERPANET will bring together memory organisations
(museums, libraries and archives), ICT and software industry, research
institutions, government organisations(including local ones), 
entertainment
and creative industries, and commercial sectors (including for example
pharmaceuticals, petro-chemical, and financial) to address the challenges
posed by the widespread use of digital technologies including lack of 
awareness,fragmentation of knowledge and skills amongst the stakeholder
communities about how to handle existing preservation problems, and how
to plan effectively for the future and the need to identify and focus on
core research/problem areas.  The dominant feature of the ERPANET will be 
the
provision of a virtual clearinghouse and knowledge-base on 
state-of-the-art
developments in digital preservation, the transfer of that expertise among
individuals and institutions, and the development of an online and 
physical
community focused on preservation.

ERPANET will run, initially, for 36 months from the 1st of November. The
website, www.erpanet.org, is now available.  900,000 EUROS of this 1.2
million EURO project comes form the European Commission.

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ERPANET has the following specific objectives:

1.  To identify and raise awareness of sources of information about the
preservation of digital objects across the broad spectrum of national and
regional cultural and scientific heritage activity in Europe.

2.  To appraise and evaluate information sources and documented
developments in digital preservation on behalf of the ERPANET user
community; and to make available results of research, projects, and best
practice.

3.  To provide an enquiry and advisory service on digital preservation
issues, practice, technology and developments.

4.  To implement a suite of six thematic workshops to bring together
experts from a range of disciplines to address key preservation issues
(e.g.integrity and audit requirements, emulation and migration) and to
initiated associated thematic discussion.

5.  To build during the EU-sponsored phase a suite of eight training
seminars based on best practice, and to identify where and what further
practitioner training and staff development is required.

6.  To develop a suite of tools, guidelines, templates for prototype
instruments and best practice testbeds and case studies.

7.  To stimulate further research on digital preservation in key areas
and encourage the development of standards where gaps and opportunities
have been identified.

8.  To build ERPANET step-by-step into a self-sustaining initiative
supported by those individuals and organisations which require access to
digital preservation resources and information.

9.  To stimulate ICT companies and software developers to incorporate
some of the preservation lessons into new generations of software.