Critical Cataloguing for Digital Preservation: a research commercialisation follow-on project

'Critical Cataloguing for Digital Preservation' addresses the stewarding of digital assets within cultural and heritage organisations. Although the technical problems associated with this complex issue have been largely solved, two further difficulties prevent them from being adequately implemented. The first is the limited capacity of a much-pressed sector and the second is the need for increased attentiveness to the social and cultural conditions that arise from the preservation of digital artifacts. This project, drawing on original research and a scoping study of the needs of the market, will provide commercial solutions to both.

Specifically, the project will maximise the impact of recently completed AHRC-funded research into justice-oriented cataloguing practices ('Legacies of Catalogue Descriptions and Curatorial Voice: Opportunities for Digital Scholarship', AH/T013036/1 & AH/T013036/2) by embedding research outcomes into the development of a novel commercial activity, the Southampton Digital Preservation Advisory Unit. Once market ready it will offer commercial products - such as expert classes, in-house training, and retained consultancy on digital preservation - that are rooted in critical cataloguing practices to a target market of small- to medium- sized GLAM institutions and community heritage groups.

In previous research we have established that Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museums (GLAM) professionals were keen to renew, revise, and refresh their approach to metadata production and use. Initial market research has also established that there is a commercial opportunity to offer expert, hands-on, and targeted training, guidance, and support to GLAM institutions and community heritage groups in developing new forms of digital preservation best practice. By combining these two insights this rapid 11-month programme of research commercialisation activity will:

- Develop a commercial model for digital preservation training, support, and advice that foregrounds the importance of critical cataloguing practices within the digital preservation lifecycle.
- Establish the DigiPres Cohort: a group of individuals from GLAM institutions and community heritage groups seeking digital preservation training, support, and advice, the composition of which is balanced across anticipated markets, collection types, and ED&I considerations.
- Stress-test methods for market delivery, pilot commercial channels, and price point tolerances in our target market.
- Analyse data on market positioning and on commercial pilots through ongoing market intelligence gathering activities.
- Commission a project evaluation report that measures success against objectives, reflects on lessons learned, and supports commercial decision making in the medium to long term.
- Report on market need for digital preservation services that foreground critical cataloguing practices and justice-oriented preservation metadata within the digital preservation lifecycle.

The project team that will deliver this work comprises researchers, commercial projects officers, and project evaluators, and will be supported by a wider academic environment at the University of Southampton that is ideal for research commercialisation. Partnerships between team members and the target market will be developed through pilot commercialisation activities, site visits, and community engagement. Outputs will include a commercial entity of significant commercial value for non-academic beneficiaries, reports on commercial demand for proposed commercial services, and guidance materials produced for commercial pilots.