As communities take charge of their heritage, and create their own digital archives, the long-term viability and sustainability of these increasingly important collections, is uncertain. LGBTQ+ communities, feminist networks, black communities, among other marginalised groups, use digital technology to ensure representation and to protect against future erasure from the historical record. However, these representations are at risk of loss because of the fragility of digital archives and their associated infrastructures, both the human infrastructures (i.e. volunteers) and the digital infrastructures.
This website is both a record of the British Academy Rising Star Engagement Award, Identity, Representation and Preservation in Community Digital Archives and Collections, (funded 2018-2019) held by Dr. Sharon Webb (Principal Investigator), Lecturer in Digital Humanities, University of Sussex, and subsequent work on the topic – Community Archives and Preservation. It is an intervention in three important areas; community archives, digital preservation, and content representation.
If you would like to be involved or want any further details please email sharon.webb@sussex.ac.uk