Digital Preservation Coalition

Reviews of The Digital Preservation Handbook

Digital information is increasingly important to our culture, knowledge base and economy. The Handbook was first compiled by Neil Beagrie and Maggie Jones and is now maintained and updated by the DPC. The handbook 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.

Notice

The hardcopy version of the Handbook of Digital Preservation is now out of print. The online version of the Handbook is being maintained and updated by the DPC and is freely available.

Endorsements and Reviews of the Handbook

Preservation Management of Digital Materials; A Handbook is the best example yet of turning discussion into action.
Holding The Past In Our Digital Future by Christopher Phipps, The Times Higher, 11th October 2002
To read the full article in The Times Higher please click here (Times Higher subscribers only)
Update 24 July 2009
Link amended to new location, no longer requires subscription.

"If you are in any doubt of the need for digital preservation, read this handbook. If you need education on the place of digital preservation in the larger scheme of access and management, and on the many issues it raises, use this handbook. And if you want a usable source of definitive references on just about every aspect of digital preservation, pop a copy of this handbook on your shelf. "
Marc Fresko EDM & ERM Consulting Services Director, Cornwell Affiliates plc in Managing Information
for full review click here
Update 13 May 2008
Link removed as no longer available.

"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