A vintage postcard from the Dominion of New Zealand, addressed to "Miss E. Colman, Walker St., Kaiapoi." The card features handwritten cursive text filling the left half and part of the top margin, written in black ink. Printed text includes "Post Card," "Printed in Germany," and postage rates: "1½ d Inland, 1 d Abroad." A corner of the postcard is torn, and the card is slightly yellowed with age.

Muir & Moodie studio. Preservation Inlet, New Zealand. 1904-1915. Museum of New Zealand – Te Papa Tongarewa.

Digital preservation might sound straightforward—protecting digital content so it remains usable and accessible over time—but even for librarians and archivists, turning that concept into action requires know-how. Fortunately, the Digital Preservation Coalition (DPC) is here to help, offering free, expert-designed, self-paced training to support anyone looking to develop or strengthen their digital preservation skills.

What is the DPC?

Founded in 2002 in the UK, the DPC is a global, member-based organization that supports long-term access to digital content through collaboration, advocacy, and training. With a rapidly growing presence across the Americas, the DPC Americas program is equipping local practitioners to meet the unique challenges of preserving digital materials.

A cornerstone of that effort is the DPC’s free-to-access online training curriculum, Novice to Know-How (N2KH), which is now available to anyone, anywhere.

Introducing Novice to Know-How

Digital preservation is both an international challenge and one that impacts us all, and as our membership grows, providing accessible training content is vital to anyone with an interest in furthering their digital preservation skills. This is why we are delighted to make the Novice to Know-How (N2KH) courses available to the entire digital preservation community at no charge, in support of their digital preservation work. The courses are provided via the DPC’s online learning platform and offer a self-paced, flexible approach to study.

Developed and managed by Sharon McMeekin, the DPC’s former Head of Workforce Development, Novice to Know-How was originally funded by The National Archives UK. All content has been researched, developed, and tested by expert practitioners within the digital preservation community.

Curious what you’ll learn from these courses? Here’s what’s included in the N2KH course lineup:

1. Digital preservation skills for beginners

The introductory “Digital Preservation Skills for Beginners” course is specifically designed for those who are new to digital preservation, but it is also perfect for those just starting out or looking to refresh their knowledge. This course covers:

  • A foundational overview of digital preservation
  • Common workflows and technological tools
  • Free and easy-to-use software demos
  • A mix of learning tools including video, reading material, and quizzes

On completion, learners will be able to explain digital preservation concepts, prioritize preservation actions, and implement basic workflows. The course is self-paced and takes approximately 20 hours to complete.

2. Providing access to preserved digital content

Included in the beginner pathway and also offered as a standalone course, this module emphasizes that access is central to digital preservation. On average, it takes a day to complete this course. Learners will:

  • Explore practical strategies for access
  • Learn how to align work with the Digital Library Federation’s “Levels of Born-Digital Access”
  • Gain the skills to move from Level One toward Level Two access standards

3. Email preservation

Designed for practitioners who already have a solid foundational knowledge of digital preservation, this course provides practical, implementable skills to develop and execute email preservation workflows. Specifically, learners will be able to:

  • Articulate what email preservation is and why it matters
  • Begin planning and implementing an email preservation program at their organization
  • Gain hands-on practice with tools like ePADD, an email archiving tool
  • Access a bonus set of case studies that offer examples of email preservation in everyday practice

4. Building a digital asset register

Based on the DPC’s new Digital Asset Register Toolkit, this course offers practical guidance on how to plan for and undertake the construction of a Digital Asset Register (DAR). A DAR is a commonly used tool for gathering information about digital content held by an organization to support understanding of the content, and to facilitate efficient management and the preservation of the content. Learners will:

  • Understand what a DAR is and why it’s important
  • Plan and develop a DAR to better manage and preserve digital content by identifying gaps, overlaps, related risks, and other information
  • Use DAR insights to make the case for preservation efforts as it allows the generation of key statistics about the content to provide evidence and support

Evidence: how Novice to Know-How is different

Since launching in 2020, N2KH has welcomed more than 5,000 learners from over 60 countries. Impressively, its average course completion rate exceeds 50% from its launch to present (April 2020-February 2025), far surpassing the typical 12.6% median for online courses, according to this study.

But don’t just take it from us, hear directly from our participants. They value the program’s hands-on focus. As one learner shared:

“This is the first digital preservation course I have done which moved beyond the theoretical into practical steps. It makes me feel I could actually achieve something in this area.”

Dr. Chelsea Denault, Michigan Digital Preservation Network coordinator, praised the course as both a personal resource and a tool for training others:

“We even pointed students from the University of Michigan School of Information to N2KH resources as standout examples of how to explain digital preservation actions in an approachable way.”

Resources and customization

Beyond the free online courses, learners can:

  • Download PDF versions of the full N2KH curriculum
  • DPC members can request SCORM packages to integrate the training into their own Learning Management Systems

The DPC Workforce Development team is also responsible for the production of flagship resources such as the Digital Preservation Handbook, which includes the widely used Digital Preservation Glossary, and the Digital Preservation Competency Framework and Audit Toolkit.  

Join a growing global network

“It is very thorough without feeling overwhelmingly complicated. I did not expect it to be as deep and useful as it was! I am very happy with it and feel confident about the knowledge learnt.”

The DPC works with its network of organizations to deliver reliable long-term access to digital content and services through community engagement, targeted advocacy work, training and workforce development such as the Novice to Know-How courses, capacity building, and sharing good practice and standards. Through the DPC Americas program, the Coalition expands its collaboration with the established, robust digital preservation community across the region to complement, celebrate and sustain their activities and amplify them for members around the world. 

If you have been thinking about learning more about digital preservation, check out the courses today.

About the author

Headshot of Anna Perricci, the Head of DPC Americas at the Digital Preservation Coalition

Anna Perricci is the Head of DPC Americas at the Digital Preservation Coalition (DPC), which is an organization that supports community, advocacy, workforce development, good practice and good governance in digital preservation. She works in partnership with teams at DPC and Portico to extend the beneficial impact of the DPC’s resources, assets and team members throughout both North and South America. With 16 years of experience in the field, before joining the DPC she provided extensive, expert guidance and strategy to projects in libraries, archives, museums, and academic institutions, as well as to funding organizations that support them.