ArkFest 2026: Digital Preservation Good Practice Track Takeaways

One of the things I enjoy most about ArkFest is bringing together people from different sectors who are tackling remarkably similar challenges. This year’s Digital Preservation Good Practice track brought together experts from higher education, cultural heritage, libraries, technology and consulting, with each speaker sharing practical insights and experiences from their own organisations. 

While every presentation brought a different perspective, I was struck by how consistently the same themes emerged throughout the discussions. Three key messages stood out to me.

1. Context and use cases should shape the technology

Rachel MacGregor and Eren Delaney from the University of Warwick shared how they are developing preservation workflows for a wide range of content, including born-digital archives, eTheses and sensitive university records. 

A key message from their presentation was that context matters. Different collections have different access requirements, sensitivities and preservation needs, meaning there is no single workflow that fits every scenario. Instead, preservation approaches need to be designed around the characteristics of the collection and the outcomes an organisation is trying to achieve. 

It was a valuable reminder that effective digital preservation begins with understanding the content, its context and its intended use before deciding how technology should support those requirements. This theme also resonated with Laurisa Sastoque and Dr. Amandeep Mahal in their session, Running a Digital Preservation Advisory Unit: Lessons, Takeaways and Looking Ahead.

Digital Preservation: from Ingest to Access – Eren Delaney & Rachel MacGregor, University of Warwick 

2. Trust is becoming a strategic priority

Florian Delabie’s session on e-Archiving and eIDAS 2.0 explored how trust, governance and compliance are becoming increasingly important aspects of digital preservation. 

As organisations face evolving regulatory expectations, digital preservation is no longer only about storing information for the long term. It is also about demonstrating authenticity, integrity and ensuring that digital records remain trustworthy and reliable over time. 

Related themes around governance, reliability and long-term stewardship also featured in the session presented by Roberta Zvanetti, Lucio Bertoldi and Dr. Paolo Cirio.

e- Archiving under eIDAS 2.0 – Florian Delabie, Cranium

3. Digital preservation is an ongoing journey

Laurisa Sastoque and Dr. Amandeep Mahal from Digital Preservation Southampton highlighted how building digital preservation capability is an ongoing process rather than a one-off project. Their work through the Digital Preservation Advisory Unit focuses on helping organisations develop the knowledge, confidence and practical skills needed to embed preservation into everyday practice. 

This echoed the University of Warwick’s emphasis on refining workflows to meet changing collection needs over time. 

Running a Digital Preservation Advisory Unit: Lessons, Takeaways and Looking Ahead – Laurisa Sastoque, Dr Amandeep Mahal, University of Southampton

Sharing experience accelerates progress 

This year’s Digital Preservation Good Practice track demonstrated the willingness of organisations to share their experiences openly. 

Whether discussing new workflows, evolving standards, emerging technologies or organisational change, every speaker contributed valuable lessons that others can take away and apply in their own environments. 

That openness to sharing knowledge is one of the reasons the digital preservation community continues to make such strong progress. Events like ArkFest provide an opportunity to learn from one another, challenge our thinking and continue raising the bar for good digital preservation practice. 

Looking ahead 

I would like to thank all of our speakers for sharing their expertise and experiences so generously throughout this year’s Digital Preservation Good Practice track. The quality of the discussions once again demonstrated the strength of our community and the value of bringing together professionals from different sectors to exchange ideas and learn from one another. 

I would also like to thank everyone who attended and contributed to the conversations throughout ArkFest 2026. If you are new to ArkFest or were unable to join the live event, it is not too late to take part. The event platform, including access to all recorded sessions, will remain available until the end of August. 

I look forward to seeing how these conversations continue to develop over the coming year, and to welcoming our community back for ArkFest 2027. 

Pre-register for ArkFest 2027, here: