Digital preservation and curation of information.presentation
- 1. Digital Preservation and Curation of Information TEAM 9: NELL BUTLER, BRANDON HOWARD, CHARI SANDERS, EMILEE WHITEHILL
- 2. A Wealth of Information "According to a recent study by market research company, IDC...the size of the information universe is currently 800,000 petabytes...but it's just a down payment on next year's total, which will reach 1.2 million petabytes or 1.2 zettabytes" (Harvey, 2012,). Harvey, D. (2012). Preserving Digital Materials. Berlin ; Boston: De Gruyter Saur, p9.
- 3. Preservation in a Digital Age The rapid growth of technology and the innovation which accompanies it has given rise to an explosion of information requiring preservation which can withstand the tests of time. However, the knowledge needed to create effective, reliable practices has not yet been developed. Library and recordkeeping practices are transitioning from collection-based models, where preservation principles have been cultivated over hundreds of years, to environments in which collections are becoming secondary to information resources.
- 4. Hybrid Libraries It matters little whether information resources are managed at local or remote locations. The idea of non-custodial collections has been examined, and in some cases, implemented, simply because the prodigious increase in digital records demanded new library services which would provide users with access to a broad array of options. Thus, librarians are managing composite resources that include physical collections, digital information, and digital libraries. Harvey, D. (2012). Preserving Digital Materials. Berlin ; Boston: De Gruyter Saur, p7.
- 5. The Need for a New Preservation Model Library, archive, and recordkeeping conventions are moving from a preservation model, where the priority has been on safeguarding physical objects (books, manuscripts, CDs) to one in which no such articles exist. This raises the question of how preservation is to be understood in digital settings. Harvey, D. (2012). Preserving Digital Materials. Berlin ; Boston: De Gruyter Saur, p7.
- 6. Preservation Practices for a Digital Age Fundamental elements of preservation programs in digital environments should incorporate these considerations: Although many archival items benefit from minimal handling, digital information must be aggressively maintained from the moment it is created. Without consistent attention to the technology that houses it, a collection may disappear. In addition to technical issues, political and social concerns may also pose challenges. arvey, D. (2012). Preserving Digital Materials. Berlin ; Boston: De Gruyter Saur, p12.
- 7. Digital Curation Digital Curation in its most simple form is the collection and preservation of digital resources to be used by future users. But why? To understand digital curation one could first review the importance of physical curation.
- 8. Why Physical Curation? Because some things can be easily viewed as vital and representative of a generation or of importance, for example: Journals of world leaders Works of popular and influential writers Paintings and sketches of artists and inspirational people Items that represent an important event
- 9. Digital Data Information in the present age is stored in the Internet in various forms. Social media, journals, artist pages, and Vlogs all represent a generation. This information is fleeting and stored on various servers controlled by a single corporation. What happens if the information is not viewed as important? What happens if the corporation has a server failure? What happens if the information is deleted?
- 10. Principles of Digital Curation Digital curation is a new and growing field of study for librarians and archivist that is taking advantage of all the new technology in its field. Because of this, the field is broad in objectives. Despite this broadness, some objectives overlap. According to Elizabeth Yakel’s work, Digital Curation, published in the OCLC Systems & Services, there are five similarities or important concepts.
- 11. Principles of Digital Curation Lifecycle/ Continuum management of the materials perhaps even reaching back to the creation of the record keeping system Active involvement over time of both record creators and potentially digital curators Appraisal and selection of materials Development and provision of access Ensuring preservation and usability and accessibility of the objects Yakel, E, Digital Curation. OCLC Systems & Services: International digital library perspective, 23(4), 335-340.
- 12. Orphan Technology Technology that is outdated, potentially unusable, and/or the last of its kind. An example would be discovering an old computer with distinct file formats that would require a specialized team to carefully extract the data. This may sound like a James Bond Film, however, it is much closer to reality than you think. . .
- 13. What Will Digital Preservation Do? This very incident happened not long ago and was reported on by Wired.com (Link to outside page). An old computer was found in the Andy Warhol Museum that no one had chosen to investigate. The file formats were old, but contained unique art the world had never scene. A team came together and carefully extracted the information and new works were displayed to the world. If the team had hurried quickly and just accessed the data, the world may have never seen those digital paintings.
- 14. How Can You Help? There are many Digital Curation projects available to be a part of. Check your local, museum, or university club to be a part of something exciting. One may also use their ALA membership to join the Digital Curation Interest Group located on their website. Educate patrons about donating potential orphan technology and being cautious of deleting digital treasures. Hold library programs that excite and educate patrons about digital archiving and curation.
- 15. Short Term Preservation Technologies Backup Redundancy Configuration in Content Delivery Systems Byte Replication
- 16. Backup Many times the content can only be retrieved via the software with which it was originally backed up
- 17. Redundancy Configuration in Content Delivery Systems The entire system is running over two or more computers in two or more data centers Online at the same time, or one of the systems is held in reserve to be brought online quickly if the other system fails
- 18. Byte Replication Creation of identical copies of files, file systems, or websites Different copies held in different locations to ensure the likelihood that should one become unavailable, access to another is probable No file format updates Discoverability can be extremely difficult
- 19. Technical Strategies Migration The process of transforming digital content from its existing format to a different format that is usable and accessible on the technology in current use Emulation Involves developing software that imitates earlier hardware and software that can be used to read older file formats
- 20. Three Organizational Models Government Funded National Libraries Community-Supported Independent Preservation Libraries e.g. Portico Networked Library Efforts Groups of libraries that have pooled their resources to share the responsibility and costs of preservation e.g. LOCKSS and CLOCKSS
- 21. Portico Focus on preserving e-journals, e-books, digitized newspapers, and libraries’ locally created or digitized content Publishers provide digital files Both libraries and publishers give annual financial contributions Libraries audit the archive and make sure content is being added to the archive for preservation Uses the migration-based preservation strategy
- 22. Portico Content Availability Accessible by faculty, staff, and students at participating libraries when a publisher Ceases operations Stops publishing a title No longer offers back issues Suffers catastrophic and sustained failure of its delivery platform Or in the case of a post-cancellation access request by the publisher
- 23. Portico Services Preservation planning Analyzed and given a plan of action Receipt and inventory management Supplied to Portico via Portable media Standard transfer protocol Software developed by Portico Processing and archival deposit Given multiple formats and kept in many geographical locations Monitoring and management Performs regular fixity and completeness checks
- 24. LOCKSS and CLOCKSS Lots of Copies Keeps Stuff Safe (LOCKSS) Digital archiving system in which content is collected in the system as it gets published Content continuously compared between all different member libraries, and differences are corrected If for any reason the content a user is looking for is not retrieved from the publisher, the LOCKSS copy is provided Transparent format migration: involves a change of format to match the needs of the user as the content is viewed Controlled LOCKSS (CLOCKSS) An offshoot of LOCKSS Content is only provided in the advent of a trigger event Content is preserved in the publisher’s original format, not an archival format
- 25. Roles and Responsibilities What are the roles and responsibilities of curators and repositories?
- 26. Roles-Repositories and Curators Repositories- archives, special collections libraries, museums, research centers, etc. They maintain “stewardship of digital materials.” Curators- keepers and custodians of collections Two groups- resource creators and resource managers Resource creators “create well formed and sustainable resources using open and standard file formats wherever possible.” Resource managers provide information or resources, correctly manage them and make them accessible to users
- 27. Responsibilities Sustainability How long will the resource last? What infrastructure and policies must be established to provide continuous development and care? Proper care and maintenance to ensure resources long-term viability Protect against obsolescence Appraisal and Identification What information or resources should be chosen to preserve? What identifier (unique label) should be used for cataloging and indexing? How many digital records should be retained?
- 28. Responsibilities Selection Complementary to Appraisal What records are most important to preserve? Which records to discard? Which records provide the most comprehensive view of modern society? Create a wide range of criteria to select these resources Authenticity Allows digital resources to be reliably reused Is the resource free from corruption, alteration or manipulation? Keeping resources as close to their original form as possible and retaining the most vital elements
- 29. Responsibilities Accessibility & Use Who can use or access this information? Ensure all users access in accordance with repositories access policies Does not deny access or bestow privileged access to users Enable continued access to digital resources Make certain any restrictions are appropriate Security & Protection How should the information and resources be stored? Must ensure safety from damage, vandalism, theft and disasters Create and implement policies that protect resources Work with colleagues, IT staff and law enforcement to protect against threats and dangers digital and physical
- 30. Copyrights As stated by Hirtle (2003), “Digital preservation and access is all about copying.” The exclusive rights of copyright holders are in conflict with the needs of curators and repositories Copyrights holders control (1) the ability to reproduce, (2) the ability to publicly display information, (3) the right to adapt information Digital rights management software embedded in resources control how they are used and for how long What rights do curators and repositories have to preserve digital information and resources?
- 31. Rights What are the rights of curators and repositories?
- 32. Copyright Act: Section 108(b) & 108(c) Section 108(b)- allows libraries and archives right to reproduce unpublished resources as long as they own them May make maximum three copies for “preservation, security and deposit.” Have the authority to create maximum three copies of published resources if damaged, deteriorating or lost. Cannot make copy unless this occurs Section 108(c)- allows libraries and archives narrowed reproduction rights Have the authority to create maximum three copies of published resources if damaged, deteriorating or lost. Cannot make copy unless this occurs
- 33. The Fair Use Provision Gives repositories and curators the right to copy and preserve resources that they may not own and digital resources that they legally own Must fulfill the four factors (PNMA) as stated by Mary Minow (2006) 1) Purpose of use- socially beneficial? Non-commercial? 2) Nature of work- what is being copied? 3) Amount of Substantiality used- how much is being copied? 4) Market impact- monetary compensation for the copyright owner?
- 34. US Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DCMA) Libraries and archives are able to make a maximum of three copies of digital resource for preservation. Many formats can be copied. Copies cannot be accessed outside of the repository Copies cannot be digitally distributed
- 35. Digital Preservation and the Three- Legged Stool The frameworks associated with digital preservation have been compared to a three-legged stool. Nancy McGovern, who began working with the preservation of digital information at the U.S. National Archives thirty years ago, describes the three-legged stool, as consisting of “organizational infrastructure (the "what"), technological infrastructure (the "how") and a resources framework (the "how much") of building an organization's digital preservation program. Nancy McGovern, Digital Preservation Pioneer. Library of Congress: Digital Preservation. Retrieved April 2015, from: http://www.digitalpreservation.gov/series/pioneers/mcgovern.html
- 36. Information as Power From a philosophical perspective, power is central to the infrastructure of the organization, and is the means through which resources are generated. Knowledge has traditionally been wielded by elites who recognized the power of intelligence. In fact, “Problems of government secrecy and the dangers of political influence on recordkeeping have ancient origins” (Jimerson, 2007). Jimerson, R. (2007). Archives for All: Professional Responsibility and Social Justice. The American Archivist, Vol. 70, p261.
- 37. Archives as Power “Written texts entrenched theocratic tyranny over vast reaches of monotheistic time and space,” according to David Lowenthal. “Most archives originated as instruments of landowners’ and lawgivers’ control. . . Archives confirmed and certified rights to land, labor, rents, and produce. Entry to archives was confined to princely, and scribal elites” (2006). Lowenthal, D. (2006). Archives, Heritage, and History. Archives, Documentation, and Institutions of Social Memory: Essays from the Sawyer Seminar. Editors: Francis X. Blouin, Jr. and William G. Rosenberg. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2006), p194.
- 38. Archives and Advocacy Archivists, recordkeepers, and information professionals hold the positions once reserved for princely and scribal elites, for they control access to the material for which they are responsible. Randall Jimerson, former President of the Society for American Archivists, refers to archives as “sites of power.” He believes archivists should embrace their power in ascertaining “what records will be preserved…..for the benefit of all members of society (and that) archivists can use the power of archives to promote accountability, open government, diversity, and social justice” (2007). Jimerson, R. (2007). Archives for All: Professional Responsibility and Social Justice. The American Archivist, Vol. 70, p252.
- 39. TED Talk To summarize the potential and value of digital information, here is a TED Talk by Adam Ostrow about the possibilities and values of our digital lives