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Clifton Suspension Bridge Trust
Clifton Suspension Bridge Trust’s Archivist Hannah Little took part in the peer mentoring programme in 2021.
Background
The Clifton Suspension Bridge Trust is a not-for-profit charity established in 1952 to act as custodians of the Grade-1 listed bridge, ensuring its maintenance and preservation. The Archivist is responsible for managing the collections owned by the Trust and for records management. Recordkeeping at the Trust plays an important role in ensuring the historic bridge continues to be safe and usable.
Hannah recognised that she needed to gain an understanding of the digital records held and created by the Trust and how these can be preserved. However, she needed some support so applied to the peer mentoring scheme. Hannah’s mentor was Jenny Bunn, Head of Cataloguing, Taxonomy and Data at The National Archives.
What they did
Initially Hannah had planned to undertake a project around the Bridge Master’s digital records – particularly their emails. However, Jenny encouraged her to think more holistically about digital records and information governance at the Trust.
To start with, Jenny asked Hannah to think about “what are you most worried about”? As a result, Hannah focused on understanding what the Trust holds, how processes can be put into place as part of the Trust’s overall collections and records management and prioritising content held on CD-ROMS which was high risk.
Hannah was successful in securing some dedicated storage space on the Trust server and began transferring digital records that needed to be preserved in the long-term. Alongside this, she created a Digital Asset Register for each category of digital records – which took into account digitised copies of records, and provenance and IPR (significant digitally-born records, such as AutoCAD, 3D modelling and survey data are created by external contractors and consultants). She started using the software DROID for understanding what they held in more detail and introduced integrity checking. A second version of the data is stored on a hard drive in a fire safe, and SharePoint Cloud Storage was set up to store a third copy offsite.
Impact
The scheme provided Hannah with the confidence to “not give up and ask the right questions.” She now has a greater understanding of what she needs to do not only in terms of overall digital preservation but also on an incremental and practical level within her own working context. She has developed a good relationship with the Trust’s external ICT company and has been able to explain and advocate internally using the NDSA Levels of Digital Preservation. Jenny encouraged Hannah to be practical – “We are not the Library of Congress, we just need something that is practical and workable.” As sole Archivist at the Trust Hannah also feels she benefitted from having a safe space to be open and honest with someone about how to integrate digital preservation actions when carrying out their varied workload. Her mantra became “Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good enough”.
Hannah is currently formulating a Digital Preservation manual and has started the ‘Novice to Know-How’ training in email preservation. The manual includes processes for accessioning external born-digital data and Hannah has developed relationships with the bridge’s engineering consultants to ensure that the right digital information will be archived and available to the Trust in years to come.
University of Southampton Library
Matthew Little, Digital Scholarship Manager at the University of Southampton took part in the peer mentoring programme in 2021.
Background
When the scheme began Matthew was the Digital Systems Development Advisor at the University of Southampton library. He had an interest in digital scholarship and digital analytics. He was using tools to harvest data about library services, including the digitisation of collections.
Matthew was involved in the implementation of a new digital viewer for displaying and sharing digital archives and special collections. As part of this implementation, he needed some help in developing approaches to data analytics and guidance on teasing out the requirements of decision-makers. His line manager suggested applying to the peer mentoring scheme and he was paired with Julie Guthrie, Delivery Manager in Digital Services, at The National Archives.
What they did
Matthew met with Julie fortnightly for about an hour. To start with, the implementation of the digital viewer was delayed slightly and, as lockdown restrictions were relaxed, Matthew’s work focused on using bookings software to help get students and staff back into library buildings. Therefore, Matthew prioritised understanding what data the library managers needed from the software and implemented this. Later, the digital viewer was soft launched and he managed to implement the data analytics he required.
Impact
Julie used strong listening skills to encourage Matthew to develop answers and draw his own conclusions to the challenges he faced. As a result, Matthew started taking a more strategic approach to data analytics – thinking about it beyond the digital viewer and looking to join up approaches across the library in a more consistent way. Matthew has set up an Analytics Taskforce in the library which he Chairs.
Matthew feels that the mentoring scheme gave him the headspace and time to think carefully about challenges and opportunities. He developed a more strategic way of thinking. It also gave him the confidence to successfully apply for a more senior role in the library.
Matthew is currently involved in a number of varied projects, including managing the library’s transition to Google Analytics 4 and archiving past data, setting up a digital scholarship equipment loans service and mentoring a postgraduate student on a professional placement.
Westminster City Archives
Westminster City Archives Senior Archivist Amanda House took part in the peer mentoring programme in 2024.
Background
Westminster City Archives is home to over 800 years of historical records which relate to the geographical area covered by the present City of Westminster. The Senior Archivist is responsible for managing these collections. Through staff and volunteer digitisation over many years, Westminster had amassed a large amount of digitised material, along with born digital collections.
Amanda applied for the peer mentoring scheme to help develop a clearer management and preservation strategy of Westminster’s current and future digital collections, and for support in building skills, understanding and confidence in the area. Although not part of the original scope this also grew to include advocacy. Amanda’s mentor was Simon Mckeon, Head of Public Records and Standards at The National Archives.
What they did
The scope of this project was large so it was important to consider what would be most useful and achievable in the given period. Simon helped Amanda re-assess and narrow the aims into three main categories: developing skills and understanding, conducting a comprehensive audit of the digital collections, and researching and testing available tools. All of which would be undertaken alongside each other and support the development of a plan going forward.
To enhance skills and understanding Amanda used the freely available Novice to Know-How beginners training modules, developed by The National Archives and Digital Preservation Coalition (DPC). To gain a better understanding of Westminster’s digital assets Amanda used The National Archives new Digital Asset Register template to gather and record relevant information including size, provenance and file type, and began testing and researching available digital preservation and management tools.
Simon also provided support when advocacy opportunities arose during the programme. The aim was to convey the challenge and risks of digital preservation and management. The goal was to foster understanding of the issue and to end the meeting with a commitment to work together which was achieved. Simon especially helped Amanda keep the messaging concise, which can be a challenge when the sense is there is so much to cover.
One key lesson Amanda re-learned was to not make assumptions about others knowledge of archives, and to ensure the very basics of our purpose and what we do are conveyed.
Impact
The peer mentoring programme allowed Amanda to dedicate the necessary time to re-establish and break down the aims. The regularity of meeting with a mentor enabled focus and structure, plus having an independent party to talk with helped challenge ways of thinking.
During this time Amanda has made significant progress with auditing Westminster Archives’ digital collections, broken down the immediate needs with IT, and furthered knowledge and understanding of the challenge ahead for external colleagues in other departments.
Amanda is currently undertaking next steps, including risk assessments of digital assets, creating a workflow, research on the experience of other archives, and with colleagues continuing conversations to encourage collaborative working.
Mini Case Studies
Buckinghamshire Archives
Buckinghamshire Archives took part in the peer mentoring programme in 2022.
We needed help in this area:
Expertise in digital preservation fell short of where the service wanted to be, with uplift required in digital preservation skill across the service as well as in digital preservations policies and procedures. The mentorship sought to help prioritise and implement knowledge gained through the ‘Novice to Know-How’ training, identify priorities for digital work, and help to ensure digital policies and procedures were fit for purpose.
We achieved:
The project resulted in the creation interim deposit procedures, the creation of a digital asset register, the scoping of a job description for a fixed term digital post, and the creation and delivery of three training sessions for members of the team at Buckinghamshire Archives. Most importantly, the programme helped with confidence in dealing with digital records, particularly in applying existing knowledge from archival training and Novice to Know-How.
Hampshire Archives and Local Studies
Hampshire Archives and Local Studies took part in the peer mentoring programme in 2023.
We needed help in this area:
The mentees wanted to explore options for delivering digital preservation and access to ensure that Hampshire Archive Service is able to safeguard the records of the recent past and present. The service purchased Preservica in 2022 and wanted to work with a mentor who was further forward on a similar digital preservation journey.
We achieved:
The programme enabled skills development and increased confidence in digital preservation knowledge and terminology as well an understanding of different approaches to digital preservation and which would be applicable in the local context. Working with the mentor also helped with prioritisation of roadmap activities and progress towards key policy documentation.
Library of Birmingham
Library of Birmingham took part in the mentoring programme in 2021.
We needed help in this area:
The mentee was seeking to improve technical knowledge of digital preservation. A priority focus was to plan the bulk ingest of an existing digital asset management system into Preservica and the intention was to gain insights into planning the bulk transfer and ingest of digital content, as well as improving knowledge of useful tools, applications and processes that could be used (i.e. for metadata extraction / enhancement).
We achieved:
Although the challenges of remote working delayed progress, the technical insights and opportunities to discuss and demonstrate work with the mentor was invaluable in the long term. By the time the mentorship ended in July 2021, the bulk ingest was underway and has since been completed. Steady progress is continuing with, developing newly acquired born-digital collections, making some collections in Preservica available online, completing a digital preservation policy and strategy, and commencing a programme of staff training.
Shakespeare’s Globe
Shakespeare’s Globe took part in the peer mentoring programme in 2023.
We needed help in this area:
The Digital Archivist was looking to implement an infrastructure project, to replace existing servers and facilitate digital preservation (to be knitted together in-house as an off-the-shelf solution was too expensive).
We achieved:
Although the mentorship scheme expired before the ultimate delivery of the project, the mentorship helped inform discussion with the project manager and contractors, developed skills with existing tools, and shaped discussion within the organisation over succession planning for the digital archive role. It also helped deliver measurable outcomes including a Digital Preservation Policy and a Digital Preservation Strategy.
The Postal Museum
The Postal Museum took part in the peer mentoring programme in 2020.
We needed help in this area:
The mentee wanted help to improve and enhance digital preservation capability. Although the service had started to collect born digital material, workflows had not been established for managing this content. Support was needed to explore the types of documentation required and a critical friend to provide feedback on processes.
We achieved:
The project produced a suite of workflows which were shared with colleagues, covering aspects such as responding to failed integrity checks, and providing access to born digital collections. This supports sharing the digital preservation workload across the collections team.
University of Kent
University of Kent took part in the peer mentoring programme in 2023.
We needed help in this area
Help was required to set up a Digital Asset Register (DAR) for the service’s digital collections. It was felt the mentoring scheme would
- Provide motivation to get the project going and give some structure to the approach
- Offer the opportunity to have someone in a similar role on hand to discuss ideas with and get support from
- Be beneficial to have some external input, from someone that didn’t know the collections and therefore could be unbiased in their opinion of how the data could be organised
We achieved
By the end of the programme, the service had an almost completely populated DAR, a model for assessing risk, and ideas on how to take the next step in using the DAR for advocacy, with a much better understanding of the shape of the digital collections. The mentor was incredibly supportive, and it was so helpful to have someone to discuss difficulties with and to offer reassurance.
Wolverhampton City Archives
Wolverhampton City Archives took part in the peer mentoring programme in 2023.
We needed help in this area
With limited resources and no dedicated staff member dealing with digital preservation, the service found it difficult to find time to dedicate to it. Some inroads had been made, including developing policies and strategies, undergoing training such as Novice to Know-How, acquiring a dedicated and protected server space for digital records and joining the Midlands Digital Preservation Group (MiDiPres). However, the focus of a dedicated project was beneficial.
We achieved
The programme enabled dedicated regular time to focus on digital preservation. Over the course of the project workflows and procedures were developed, a digital asset register began to be populated and digital material was uploaded to Preservica on a regular basis. There was the chance to expand knowledge around digital material in a “safe” space where mistakes don’t matter and there is no such thing as a stupid question. Service benefits included greater resilience in having the procedures written down and a greater understanding about the digital records held, and where they are. Future developments include provision of public access to digital records and the broadening of staff knowledge throughout the team.