Conference Agenda

The instability of the current United States research landscape has required the rapid response of data curators and librarians to emerging changes. As the shifts in the research landscape continue, shouldering the weight of the changes alone diminishes our ability to provide support to researchers, keep up to date on the situation, and respond to changes in an informed manner. Instead of placing the burden on a sole individual in an organization, a more holistic and sustainable model is developing a community focused on mutually supporting one another. This lightening talk will discuss how a data librarian built a community dedicated addressing the changes in federally funded research policies through knowledge sharing, dividing labor, and developing effective training. The goal of this presentation is to provide concrete takeaways from the successes and challenges of this use case, in order that attendees can develop their own resilient community in the face of continual fluctuations.

At a time where research institutions globally are being faced with diminishing budgets, methods for prioritising data for preservation are essential. This talk will detail our application of the Hoffman et al. data rescue framework (DRF) in a recent project to prioritise datasets for rescue, plan workload, anticipate potential obstacles, and approximate resources required. I will detail our novel points-based adaptation of the DRF which facilitated the decision-making process of which dataset to save, accounting for our limited budget. I will also describe how we used this adaptation to quantitatively compare the dataset before and after rescue, taking the FAIR principles into account. The methodology I will describe is likely applicable to countless similar datasets currently held in inaccessible locations and gives a step-by-step structured process for data curation professionals to follow from prioritising data through to publication. It could greatly improve efficiency and prioritisation of data rescues if adopted by other institutions, particularly those affected by scarcity of budget and resource.

This talk will discuss recent work by the Digital Preservation Coalition to collaboratively create guidance and advice for the community on how to calculate the carbon footprint of digital preservation activities. Through the Carbon Footprint Task Force, which has been meeting every month during 2025, a group DPC Members has come together to share their own experiences and develop a toolkit for others within the community to use to help them work in this area. This short talk will describe this work and showcase the online resource which is due for publication in February 2026.

This presentation shows how Arquivo.pt is preserving websites related to scientific research projects and how web information from the past is becoming a source of data for research projects and the development of Artificial Intelligence applications. It is argued that the preserved contents of the web are also data and, as such, should be included in issues related to curation.

The National Social Security Fund (NSSF) Uganda, established under the NSSF Act, provides social security services to all employees in Uganda. In 2018, the Fund initiated a records digitization project to address challenges such as manual processes, long document flows, and rising operational costs. This led to the implementation of an Electronic Document and Records Management System (EDRMS), known as ADA (Advanced Digital Archival), aimed at digitizing historical records for easier access and retrieval.

Key activities included preparation, scanning, and indexing of records, resulting in a digital central repository that allows real-time access for employees, enhancing customer service and workflow tracking. The Fund achieved a 95% paperless operation, promoting a clean desk policy. However, challenges arose, including high software maintenance costs and the need for ongoing change management.

Looking ahead, the Fund aims to integrate the EDRMS with other systems, build internal capacity, and leverage data-driven decision-making. This presentation outlines the digitization journey, highlighting improvements in accessibility, operational efficiency, and customer service, while recommending strategies for other institutions to enhance their records management processes.