Digital Curation Centre

In partnership with other institutions, the DCC has created and developed tools for tackling issues in digital preservation and curation.

Working with other practitioners, the DCC supports UK institutions who store, manage and preserve these data to help ensure their enhancement and their continuing long-term use.

These steps are always performed in order, though can be repeated indefinitely as long as the object’s curation continues to be a priority.

[2][11][12] Occasional actions including dispose, reappraise, and migrate represent activities undertaken only when certain criteria regarding the object’s lifecycle are met.

The model highlights the importance of data creation, such as metadata, in successful, sustainable curation practices.

Data archivists will find the model beneficial as an outline of the necessary processes to guarantee the thoroughness of their curation actions.

[2] DRAMBORA or the Digital Repository Audit Method Based on Risk Assessment is another development of both the DCC and DigitalPreservationEurope.

This is a tool, published in 2007, which can be used by digital repositories to self-assess their own organisations and the preservation activities undertaken therein.

The DRAMBORA methodology acts as a checklist to ensure that a particular institution adheres to a set of standards.

The self-assessment undertaken using the DRAMBORA methodology is intended to determine weaknesses within a digital repository that could affect its credibility.

Led by the University of Edinburgh (involving its School of Informatics, the National e-Science Centre (NeSC), the EDINA national data centre and the AHRC Centre for the Studies in Intellectual Property and Technology Law) the winning consortium also included HATII at the University of Glasgow, UKOLN at the University of Bath, and the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC).

The DCC began operations early in 2004, with a formal launch on 5 November of that year at Edinburgh's e-science institute.

Although it was intended that the centre would be inaugurated by the Duke of Edinburgh, then the university's Chancellor, he instead had to attend the funeral of Princess Alice and his place was taken by Lord Sutherland of Houndwood.

[17] The original Associate Directors were David Giaretta STFC, Liz Lyon University of Bath, and Seamus Ross HATII.

The DCC has continued research and development activities funded by a wide range of grants from other sources.