Community Archives Membership Scheme

The Digital Repository of Ireland launched a paid membership model in February 2018. In that time several organisations have joined as Full or Associate members. As a largely public-funded repository we believe it is important to make long-term preservation of digital materials open to a wide range of organisations, including those operating on a non-funded, voluntary basis. To the end, we launched a Community Archives Membership Scheme. As the winner of the first Scheme, Cork LGBT Archive will be granted a year’s free associate membership for the year 2019.

Clare Lanigan, Education and Outreach Manager at DRI, commented:

"We received several excellent applications, and it was difficult to select one winner. Our judging panel considered the Cork LGBT Archive to be a collection of considerable social relevance, not only for LGBT community activism but also for other social change movements and Irish history in general. The panel also agreed that the archive gives a glimpse into the range of dynamic activism throughout Ireland. We appreciate the work that has already gone into Cork LGBT archive, and note that it is ready for ingestion, with regard to well-prepared metadata and licences."

Orla Egan of Cork LGBT Archives said:

"The Cork LGBT Archive is delighted to have been selected as the winner of the first DRI Community Archives Scheme!  This is an important acknowledgment of the importance of preserving Irish LGBT history and heritage and of including lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender history in the Digital Repository of Ireland.   It is important that the DRI’s collections reflect the diversity of Irish society and that the DRI helps to preserve and display previously hidden histories and heritage.

Inclusion in the Digital Repository of Ireland is very important for small unfunded community archives, like the Cork LGBT Archive, who do not have the resources to develop our own complex digital preservation processes.  The DRI has the resources and expertise to develop comprehensive preservation policies and practices. For community archives, like the Cork LGBT Archive, this provides the best option for ensuring the long-term digital preservation of our collections.

We are looking forward to working with the team in the DRI and to seeing Cork’s history of LGBT community activism included in the Digital Repository of Ireland."