*Apologies for cross-posting*

SCAPE Project Training Event
Keeping Control: Scalable Preservation Environments for Identification and Characterisation
6-7 December 2012
Archaeological Museum of the Martins Sarmento Society, Guimarães, Portugal

Registration is now open at: http://scape-guimaraes.eventbrite.co.uk.
The event is being supported by the European Capital of Culture 2012 (http://www.guimaraes2012.pt/).

Overview
One of the biggest initial challenges to digital preservation is file format identification. While there has been a lot of work in this area, the ever changing nature of digital formats realistically means the problem will never be "solved". This first SCAPE training course will give you the knowledge and experience to confidently choose file formation identification and characterisation tools, which have been developed or extended during the SCAPE project.

As well as introducing you to a range of tools and their capabilities, you will learn about integrating tools into your own scalable systems and workflows, drawing on the expertise of the SCAPE trainers.

With more businesses and organisations actively deploying preservation services, there is a critical need for more knowledge to be shared, and services to be developed in order to inform of change. Panels and open discussion sessions will provide a valuable space for voices to discuss the latest preservation services to monitor change.

There are a number of recent conference papers and blogs outlining the on-going challenges surrounding file formation identification and characterisation, and many of the writers of these resources will be at the event for face-to-face discussion sessions. Please also take a look at the resources page for some further background reading: http://wiki.opf-labs.org/display/SP/Resources+-+SCAPE+Training+event+-+Guimaraes.


Learning outcomes (by the end of the training event, attendees will be able to):
  1.  Distinguish between different file types and identify the requirements for characterising each of them.
  2.  Carry out a number of identification, characterisation, and duplication detection experiments on example files.
  3.  Critically evaluate characterisation and identification tools and assess their advantages and disadvantages when used in different scenarios.
  4.  Compare and contrast the differences in running characterisation and identification tools both stand-alone and within workflows.
  5.  Envisage a system that combines workflows with identification, characterisation and validation tools to suit a variety of scenarios.
  6.  Conduct an in-depth analysis of large volumes of identification and characterisation data and find representative sample records suitable for preservation planning experiments.

Agenda
The agenda can be seen here: http://www.scape-project.eu/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/SCAPE_Guimaraes_Agenda_1.01.pdf


Who should attend?
Digital preservation practitioners; digital librarians and archivists, digital curators, repository managers, or anyone with a responsibility to manage digital collections. To get the most out of this training course, attendees should ideally have some experience of command line interfaces and system architecture.

Developers who actively deploy such systems are also encouraged to attend.


Registration
Please register at: http://scape-guimaraes.eventbrite.co.uk. The cost for the two days is €100.
Morning and afternoon coffee breaks and lunch will be provided and are included in the registration fee.

*Please ensure you bring your laptop with you so you can participate in the practical exercises.*

Registration will close on 30 November.

Venue, travel and accommodation information 
The event will be held at the Archaeological Museum of the Martins Sarmento Society, (Museu Arqueológico Martins Sarmento) which is one of the country’s oldest institutions dedicated to the study and preservation of archaeological artifacts. The museum holds important collections on the pre-Roman Castreja culture as well as other archaeological items, sections on ancient sculpture, Latin inscriptions, pre- and proto-historic pieces and coins.

Information about travelling to Guimarães, where to stay and what to see can be found on the SCAPE website: http://www.scape-project.eu/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/SCAPE_WhitePaper_how-to-get-to-gmr_V0-31.pdf.

About the SCAPE Project
The SCAPE project is co-funded by the European Union under FP7 ICT-2009.4.1 (Grant Agreement number 270137) SCAPE will enhance the state of the art in digital preservation in three ways:

  *   Infrastructure and tools for scalable preservation actions
  *   A framework for automated, quality-assured preservation workflows
  *   Integration of these components with policy-based automated preservation planning and watch
To find out more visit: http://www.scape-project.eu/.

If you have any questions about the event please email us: [log in to unmask]

Kind Regards,
Rebecca McGuinness
Open Planets Foundation

Training Work package Lead, SCAPE Project