| International Conference on Digital Preservation | ||
September 2010, revised April 2011
The International Conference on Digital Preservation (iPRES) is a self-organized body whose main mission is to promote research and practice in the area of digital curation.
Digital Preservation and Curation is evolving from a niche activity to an established practice and research field that involves various disciplines and communities. iPRES emphasizes that preserving our scientific and cultural digital heritage requires integration of activities and research across institutional and disciplinary boundaries to adequately address the challenges in digital preservation. iPRES aims to strengthen the links between digital preservation researcher and practitioners.
The structure of the iPRES Steering Committee is based on three major constituencies, which collectively will overview the organization and management of the series of iPRES conferences, normally held on a yearly basis in autumn. The constituencies are:
The Steering Committee members are:
The Steering Committee members are the General Chair(s) and the Program Chair(s) of the previous conferences as well as the elected members. In order to remain a Steering Committee member the member has to attend the iPRES conferences, allowing at most two absences in a row, i.e. if a member will not attend the third Conference, (s)he will lose membership.
Members of the Steering Committee can propose that a named expert should be invited to be a member of the STC. Further, a designated Steering Committee Member can upon entering the STC following item (1) above nominate another individual to become a member instead of herself/himself. The proposal shall be discussed at the STC Meeting and will be accepted if a qualified 2/3 majority of the STC Members present at the meeting agrees.
The Steering Committee will elect an Executive Board with two members; the Steering Committee Chair and the Deputy Steering Committee Chair.
They will be elected for three years by and from the Steering Committee members. They can be re-elected a maximum of one additional time consecutively for the same position.
The Executive Committee is chaired by the Steering Committee Chair. The Executive Committee has as a main responsibility to
The main purpose of the Steering Committee is to ensure the continuity and the quality of iPRES. More specifically, the Steering Committee should:
The Steering Committee has the final authority on every aspect related to the organization and management of iPRES up to the point of assigning the conference to the respective General Chair(s).
As a general rule the Steering Committee will meet once a year, in connection with the iPRES conference, unless some exceptional circumstances will require more frequent meetings.
The Agenda for the annual Steering Committee Meeting shall be distributed to the Steering Committee at least two weeks before the Steering Committee meeting.
In each conference, the General Chair(s), the Program Chair(s), and any other explicitly identified chairs (for example, Tutorial Chair, Panel Chair, etc.) form the Conference Organizing Committee for that conference and are in charge of the planning, running, and oversight of that conference to ensure that it meets the objectives of iPRES.
The General Chair(s) are responsible for the overall running of the conference. The Program Chairs will be responsible for the scientific program of the conference, the papers, posters, etc presented at the conference. These two bodies will maintain contact with the iPRES-STC providing feedback and obtaining guidance.
Specifically, they will prepare a report of the scientific and organizational aspects of the conference and the expected financial results, to be presented at the yearly meeting of the Steering Committee being held in connection with that conference.
The Steering Committee obtains, through open and informal solicitations, proposals for conference locations and names of individuals who are suitable to serve as General Chair(s) and Program Chair(s).
Institutions or individuals interested to propose and organize a future iPRES conference should send written proposals to the Chair(s) of the Steering Committee, according to the deadlines set forth in the call for bids, usually at least 27 months before the proposed date. The proposal shall follow the requirements set forth in the Guide for Preparing Bids to Host iPRES and list, for example, facilities, venue, proposed management, preliminary budget and financial arrangements, a brief summary of the conference structure, a draft of a preliminary call for papers, the scheduling of any other potentially conflicting digital library related event (within several months before and after the proposed conference date), and any other information that the proposers deem relevant to the evaluation of the proposal. In addition to the main iPRES conference event, satellite events such as tutorials and workshops may be organized as part of the overall iPRES conference event.
The Steering Committee reviews proposals (possibly with the assistance of external reviewers) and notifies the proposers of acceptance at least 20 months before the proposed date. In case of competing proposals, final decisions will be made by vote of the members present at the STC meeting or, if necessary, solicited via an electronic voting process, by simple majority voting. Decisions should be made by consensus. In case of a draw, the Chair of the iPRES-STC will have the final decision on either awarding the conference to one of the bidders, or delaying the decision to request additional information.
Notwithstanding the more detailed specifications laid out in the Guide to organizing iPRES as well as Guide for Preparing Bids to Host iPRES, some general guidelines are provided below that will influence the decision process: