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David Dawson
Senior ICT Adviser
Resource: The Council for Museums, Archives and Libraries
16 Queen Anne's Gate, London SW1H 9AA
email: [log in to unmask]  tel: 020 7273 1415

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The Joint Information Systems Committee of the UK Higher and Further Education Funding Councils (JISC) is pleased to announce publication by the British Library of Preservation Management of Digital Materials: A Handbook. Digital information is increasingly important to our culture, knowledge base and economy. This handbook based on research by staff from the JISC and the Arts and Humanities Data Service, provides an internationally authoritative and practical guide to the subject of managing digital resources over time and the issues in sustaining access to them. It will be of interest to all those involved in the creation and management of digital materials.

PRESERVATION MANAGEMENT OF DIGITAL MATERIALS: A HANDBOOK

Maggie Jones and Neil Beagrie

Sponsored by Resource: The Council for Museums, Archives and Libraries

Published by THE BRITISH LIBRARY October 2001

Price £15.00 (including UK postage, overseas postage extra)

Paperback, 145 pages, 297x210mm, ISBN 0 7123 0886 5

Some pre-publication comments on the Handbook are provided below:

For some years, Neil Beagrie and Maggie Jones have quietly been making an outstanding contribution to the development of digital preservation - on both sides of the global e-village. This publication amply demonstrates their skills at bringing together the best information, analysing it and synthesising it to produce practical advice, and adding their own highly valued ideas. This is the big picture, close up and intimate. Colin Webb, Director Preservation Services, National Library of Australia

The ever-increasing range of digital information is bringing new challenges in terms of understanding and managing the digital lifecycle, and the preservation of electronic resources will be just as important to our future as the existing great collections of our archives, libraries, and museums. It is impossible to imagine how generations to come will gain insight into our society and our lives without getting access to that growing range of resources. Preservation Management of Digital Materials is an essential tool both to raise awareness of the risks we run if we do not take digital preservation seriously and to give a sense of direction for those directly involved in the digital lifecycle. Chris Batt, Director of Learning and Information Society, Resource: The Council for Museums, Archives and Libraries

This publication represents a significant step on the road from 'talking' to 'doing' in the area of digital preservation. It is a clear, authoritative, up to date and pragmatic handbook, drawing on the extensive practical experience of the authors. Helen Shenton, Chair Digital Library System Project, British Library

This will undoubtedly become a key reference text on all aspects of digital preservation. Alison Horsburgh, National Archives of Scotland

All institutions will greatly benefit from its practical approach, the thorough treatment of the subject and the numerous references on different issues of digital preservation. Dr. Michael Wettengel, Germany

Over the past few years the U.K. has been a hot spot for digital preservation activity. With the publication of Preservation Management of Digital Materials, Maggie Jones and Neil Beagrie have provided some of the most pragmatic information available today to assist cultural institutions in addressing digital preservation threats. It not only offers vetted guidance on available resources, but encourages the reader to think carefully about the issues, through a combination of case studies, commentary, checklists, and decision trees. Anne Kenney Associate Director, Department of Preservation, Cornell University, USA

Customers in UK, Europe, and Australia should order from::

Turpin Distribution Services Ltd

Blackhorse Road

Letchworth

Herts SG6 1HN

UK

Email [log in to unmask]

Tel +44 (0) 1462 672555

Fax +44 (0) 1462 480947

Customers in North and South America should order from:

University of Toronto Press, 5201 Dufferin Street, Downsview, Ontario, M3H 5T8 Canada.

Tel 416 667 7791, Fax 416 667 7832, Email [log in to unmask]