This week some of the staff at the ADS will travel to Nottingham to attend the Chartered Institute of Archaeologists Annual Conference. This year the theme of the conference is ‘Sustainable futures – standards, skills and the profession’.
ADS staff will be delivering several papers in a session on Thursday 20th April titled ‘Thinking Outside of the Box: Sustainable Futures for Atypical Archives’. Below is the abstract for the session as well as details about the papers from ADS staff members.
Thinking Outside of the Box: Sustainable Futures for Atypical Archives
Thursday 20th April 2023 9.30am-1pm
Session Abstract:
The standards and skills involved in producing site archaeological archives have improved in the past decade, with both physical and digital archives being managed to a higher standard and becoming more accessible with better information and increased deposition. Looking beyond traditional archaeological archives, we are interested in how established standards, skills and stores which support archive generation apply to more atypical archives. Are the same skills required to produce them? Are they managed in the same way and to the same standards? And is the current infrastructure able to make sure they are accessible well into the future?
This session will consider how existing standards and guidance for creating archaeological archives are applicable to the more atypical archive. What sort of archives are being produced and what sort of future proofing is built into them? Are physical archives being generated, and where are these being kept – if not in a museum, are they accessible? Where archives are mainly digital, how and where are these being deposited? Are we considering how researchers, educators or museums are accessing and using archives? Or have you benefited from archives being more findable or accessible?
Join us to help the sector think outside of the box… We’re looking for talks relating to activities such as (but not restricted to) building surveys, geophysics, maritime archaeology, environmental samples, digital assets, community projects and university research, as well as looking at legacy archives…
Papers by ADS staff.
11.50-12.00
- Teagan Zoldoske: Digital archives – can changes in workflows improve accessibility?
In the past year, the ADS has received over 650 new archive deposits with over 200 of those being a part of the High Speed Two (HS2) infrastructure project. The deposits from HS2 and other large atypical infrastructure projects allow us the opportunity to work closely with depositors over a long period to investigate and explore new workflows. In this paper we will look back and review what has worked and what hasn’t over the past year. We will be asking questions of data creators, data managers and digital archivists to see what changes could be made to improve the future of digital archives from data collection to dissemination to ultimately improve the reuse of the archives themselves.
12.00-12.10
- Dr Nicky Garland: Are atypical archives FAIR? Exploring Reuse in non-traditional digital archives.
Over the last decade much work has been undertaken to ensure archaeological archives are Finable, Accessible and Interoperable. However, ensuring archives, whether digital or physical, are Reused remains a key challenge. Atypical archives add to those challenges. Atypical digital data may involve bespoke databases designed for highly specific purposes or the use of uncommon data formats that require specialist or proprietary software. These challenges restrict the accessibility and interoperability of this data and consequently, the potential reuse of these archives in the future. Using case studies from ADS archives, this paper will explore these challenges in detail and present possible solutions that may ensure the long-term sustainability of atypical archives. These solutions include the use of standardised and richly described metadata but also communicating the presence and usefulness of these archives and improving digital literacy so that atypical data can be properly reused for future research.
For more information about the schedule, sessions and papers please follow this link to the CIfA Conference 2023 website.
ADS staff will be attending throughout the conference. If you are attending and would like to discuss your projects or archiving needs please feel free to contact the helpdesk to arrange a time to meet.
