New register of Preservation Projects in Southeast Asia and the Pacific

Documentary materials, such as books and other paper-based materials, palm leaf manuscripts, film and digital material, comprise a very significant part of our regional cultural heritage. Designed to assist those considering undertaking preservation activities in the region, a new online register has been developed to provide up-to-date information about current and recent documentary heritage preservation projects. This register will be available on the National Library of Australia's server at http://www.nla.gov.au/dhp/ from late 2001. 

All who are engaged in documentary preservation activities in the region are encouraged to enter details of their activities on this register. To do this, please contact the IFLA-PAC Regional Centre (Oceania and Southeast Asia) at the National Library of Australia at: nipa@nla.gov.au with details of your project or visit the register website. 

Surveying Our Region

What are the key problems in producing preservation quality microfilm for your organisation? What suggestions would you give a person who was writing microfilming training materials for use by staff in your organisation? What method of training delivery would suit you best? These were some of the questions included in a recent survey, designed to gather information about the preservation needs of the Asia/Pacific region. The survey was developed and distributed from the IFLA-PAC regional centre (Oceania and Southeast Asia) at the National Library of Australia in collaboration with the regional centre for Asia at the National Diet Library in Japan. It focussed on gathering information that would enable the construction of a regional profile of preservation microfilming training activities and requirements. It was also designed to gather information about general preservation training needs. Not surprisingly, the impact of digital technologies was reflected, particularly in this latter part of the survey, with many of the responses indicating the need for information on technical standards for digitisation, the relationship between microfilm and digital options and for guidance on maintaining access to digital information. 

Preserving Access to Digital Information (PADI): A Global Initiative

The PADI website (http://www.nla.gov.au/padi/) is a 'subject gateway' to a wide range of resources about digital preservation. These resources include articles, projects, policies and conferences on topics ranging from legal deposit for electronic publications, migration of digital information, persistent identification of networked material to national approaches to digital preservation. PADI has been designed to assist users to understand the subject matter which it provides access to and includes commentary on a wide range of digital preservation topics. 

With the implementation in mid-2001 of PadiUpdate, users of PADI from around the world now have the opportunity to contribute directly to the PADI database. This marks an exciting development in the progress of PADI as an international collaboration. The National Library of Australia is now receiving contributions from indexers located in institutions distributed globally. 

PadiUpdate is located at: http://www.nla.gov.au/padiupdate/. Those wishing to contribute to the PADI database through this facility are invited to contact the PADI Administrator at the National Library of Australia at:padi@nla.gov.au.