Digital Preservation
Steps 1 & 2: Identify & Select
Steps
Identify - what digital content do you have?
Select - what portion of that content will be preserved?
Store - what issues are there for long term storage?
Protect - what steps are needed to protect your digital content?
Manage - what provisions are needed for long-term management?
Provide - what considerations are there for long-term access?
DPOE Baseline Modules: Identify, version 2.0, Nov 2011
DPOE Baseline Concepts
manage
protect
store
identify
select
provide
Problem Summary: Preservation is a
resource commitment, so we need to
effectively plan for our current and future
preservation needs, because not all digital
content will be preserved.
Solution: An explicit
inventory is the best way to
identify content
DPOE Baseline Modules: Identify, version 3.0
How will an inventory help?
Good preservation decisions are based on a
deep understanding of the possible content to
be preserved
Possible to preserve
Actually preserved
All Content
Inventory Considerations
• An inventory’s content is more important
than style and format however…
• Inventory results should preferably be:
– Scalable: content will be added during Select
– Available: accessible to team, managers, others
– Usable: simple format to sort, list, etc.
– Current: update periodically
– Electronic: Needs to be a dynamic format
– Documented: an inventory needs to be captured
DPOE Baseline Modules: Identify, version 3.0
Inventory Tips
• Use available, familiar software to get started
– What software or tools do you already have?
– What free or open source tools might be useful?
Be consistent, comprehensive, and concise
DPOE Baseline Modules: Identify, version 3.0
Inventory Scope
•
•
•
•
•
What content are we already preserving?
What other digital content do we have?
What content do/will our producers create?
What content are we required to keep?
What content do we need to review?
DPOE Baseline Modules: Identify, version 2.0, Nov 2011
Exercise
• Where is all our content?
• At your tables, think about the digital content
at your library, where it’s located, and what
kinds of files there are
Level of Detail
• Inventories can be general to detailed
• Determine appropriate level of detail for you
• Factors in determining level of detail:
– Extent of content to be inventoried
– Nature and location of content to be inventoried
– Resources available to complete inventory
– Timeframe, deadlines for completing inventory
DPOE Baseline Modules: Identify, version 2.0, Nov 2011
Content Categories
Inventories should include all relevant, e.g.:
• Institutional records
• Special collections & Archives
• Scholarly content – licensed and open
• Research data
• Web content
DPOE Baseline Modules: Identify, version 2.0, Nov 2011
Format Types
An inventory should identify format types within
categories of content - examples:
• Images
• Maps/geospatial
• Video
• Drawings
• Audio
• Web content
• Text
• Structured data
Indicate the range of file types when possible
DPOE Baseline Modules: Identify, version 3.0
Date Considerations
Inventories should note:
• Date of inventory – and updates to it
• Date of files – when possible
• Dates covered in content – even approximate
• Date created/received – if relevant, possible
DPOE Baseline Modules: Identify, version 2.0, Nov 2011
Location Issues
Locations of content are important – consider:
• Method to specify online/offline location
• General location – e.g., with us, with creator
• Ability to change locations as content moves
• Method storage systems use to note location
Be clear enough without going to extremes…
DPOE Baseline Modules: Identify, version 2.0, Nov 2011
Location
Cloud Platform
Sample Basic Inventory
Category: Special Collections - Slides
Title/Description: Circus photographs
Type: Images, digitized
Format: TIFF
Extent: 242 GB, 2250 images
Location: Server (Systems), CDs (Digital Center)
Coverage dates: early 1950s,
Creation date: 2010 - 2012,
Inventoried: by Andrew Huot, November, 2013
Steps
Identify - what digital content do you have?
Select – what portion of that content will be preserved?
Store - what issues are there for long term storage?
Protect - what steps are needed to protect your digital content?
Manage - what provisions are needed for long-term management?
Provide - what considerations are there for long-term access?
DPOE Baseline Modules: Select, version 2.0, Nov 2011
Why be selective?
• Storage may be cheap, management is not
… especially over time
1 Tb Hard drive= $100
IT Department = $100 hour
DPOE Baseline Modules: Select, version 3.0
Why be selective?
• Quality of content
DPOE Baseline Modules: Select, version 3.0
Why be selective?
• Discovery and dissemination services
… scale, scope, performance, sustainability
DPOE Baseline Modules: Select, version 3.0
Why be selective?
• Match mission to content: What kind
of content would this organization
preserve?
Cottonwood Foundation, a charitable grant-making
organization, is dedicated to promoting empowerment
of people, protection of the environment,
and respect for cultural diversity.
DPOE Baseline Modules: Select, version 3.0
Terminology for Select
Different terms in different domains:
•Archives – appraisal and scheduling
•Libraries – e.g., selection
•Museums – e.g., acquisition
•Records Management – vital and non-vital
•Commercial media - channelization
DPOE Baseline Modules: Select, version 3.0
Steps to Select
Review your potential digital content
Define and apply selection criteria
Document (and preserve) selection decisions
Implement your decisions
DPOE Baseline Modules: Select, version 3.0
Tons of Review Priorities
•Most significant (producer, content)
•Most extensive
•Most requested
•Easiest (e.g., most familiar)
•Oldest (possible historical importance)
•Newest (possible immediate interest)
•Mandate (local, legislation, etc.)
DPOE Baseline Modules: Select, version 3.0
Another layer: Audience /
Stakeholders
DPOE Baseline Modules: Select, version 3.0
Quick Review Tool
Stop if or when the answer is ‘no’…
1.Content
– does the content have value (consider
stakeholders)?
– does it fit your scope?
2.Technical
– is it feasible for you to preserve the content?
3.Access
– is it possible to make the content available?
DPOE Baseline Modules: Select, version 3.0
To Select or Not to Select?
Stakeholders
• Archive researchers
• Television viewers
• Stockholders
• Web site users
Policy questions
• Is held in other archives
• Does it have use value
beyond this one
project?
• Does it fit our policy?
Selection can
DPOE Baseline Modules: Select, version 3.0
Project Management
• Treat selection as an ongoing structured
project to plan and coordinate the process
DPOE Baseline Modules: Select, version 3.0
Augment Inventory
Add Descriptions – more granular
– Not item level, but enough to specify categories
(additional information from the creator)
Oh by the way, that whole part about
me being Italian in my diary is only
half true.
DPOE Baseline Modules: Select, version 3.0
Augment Inventory
Supplement inventory from Identify
Extent
– How much content is there/will there be? (number of
files, megabytes, number of subfolders)
– When will content no longer be active/disposition?
A file full of footage has several extents:
Number of files, length of footage, number of
gigabytes, number of reels digitized, number of
subseries, etc.
DPOE Baseline Modules: Select, version 3.0
Outcomes for identifying &
selecting content to preserve
. Identify potential digital content
you may need to preserve
. Treat the inventory as a
management tool that grows as
your program grows
. Use it as a planning tool to
prepare
.. e.g., staff, training, annual
growth
. Provides a basis for acquiring
content, defining submission
agreements, plans
. Expand inventories of content
. Permit agreements with
producers such as retention
schedules, acquisition lists,
submission agreements
Objectives
. Gain control of possible content
for planning
. Develop a sustainable program