Digital Preservation From Scratch

In 2025, The ArQuives (Canada’s 2SLGBTQIA+ Archives) hired its first-ever digital archivist to build and implement a digital preservation program entirely “from scratch”. No existing policy, infrastructure, or strategy existed. This talk will walk through the process of implementing digital preservation from scratch, including conducting maturity model assessments (DPC RAM and the NDSA Levels of Preservation), evaluating digitization equipment and workflows, starting a Digital Asset Register (DAR), and launching digital policies and strategies. It will also discuss the realities of balancing best practices with practical constraints in a small, community-driven organization with limited resources. Attendees will gain insights into how digital preservation can be successfully, and realistically, implemented within an organization.