What can libraries do for researchers?
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This document discusses the roles that libraries can play in supporting researchers. It outlines challenges around digital preservation such as hardware and software obsolescence. It also discusses how the British Library actively preserves digital content through projects like the Flashback Project. The document then examines thesis workflows and how they are becoming more diverse with different file formats. It argues libraries need to more proactively support PhD students through the whole research process. Finally, it proposes roles for libraries at the institutional and national level, including advocacy, infrastructure support, training, and engaging with services like web archives.
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Digital preservation challenges
[Example courtesy of Paul Wheatley, Digital Preservation Coalition]](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/2016-09-29-etheses-03-160929164716/85/What-can-libraries-do-for-researchers-4-320.jpg)
What can libraries do for researchers?
- 1. What can libraries do for researchers? Michael Day Digital Preservation Manager The British Library EThOS Multimedia and non-text PhD workshop, The British Library, London, 29 September 2016
- 2. www.bl.uk 2 What can libraries do for researchers? • Outline – Digital preservation challenges – Digital preservation at the British Library – Web archives – Thesis workflows – Roles for libraries • HEIs • Others
- 3. www.bl.uk 3 Digital preservation challenges • A many layered challenge: – Obsolescence • Hardware, peripherals, storage devices, software, etc. – Human factors • Lack of documentation / metadata, dead links, complex objects, software interdependencies, semantic drift – Sustainability • Solutions – Active management of content (e.g., standardisation, secure bit-level storage, monitoring of technologies, preservation planning)
- 4. www.bl.uk 4 Digital preservation challenges [Example courtesy of Paul Wheatley, Digital Preservation Coalition]
- 5. www.bl.uk 5 Digital preservation at the British Library
- 6. www.bl.uk 6 Digital preservation at the British Library
- 7. www.bl.uk 7 Digital preservation at the British Library Flashback Project (2015-16)
- 8. www.bl.uk 8 Web archives • Websites continuously get restructured and/or disappear – Studies of links from the research literature, monitoring “link rot” and website changes • Web archives – Actively collecting Websites since the mid-1990s – Internet Archive, content available via Wayback Machine – UK Web Archive • Open UK Web Archive – selective • Legal Deposit UK Web Archive - domain harvesting, since 2013, >60 Tb each), limited access) – Technological limitations to capture tools
- 9. www.bl.uk 9 Thesis workflows (past) Source: Victoria Catterson / Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/cowlet/354911838 License: CC Attribution 2.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/legalcode
- 10. www.bl.uk 10 Thesis workflows (current and future) • A much more diverse set of outputs – Data, Software, Games, Audio, Multimedia, Websites, etc. – Random file formats • Some securely “linked to” the thesis, some not: – Third-party services – Standalone websites • Current situation – Essentially replicates the traditional workflow, substituting or adding the deposit of PDF (and metadata) – Growing provision for other file types, but generally treated as exceptions (files are retained as submitted)
- 11. www.bl.uk 11 Thesis workflows (current and future) • Roles for libraries: – Need for libraries to be more pro-active in supporting PhD students, through whole process (not just involved in final submission) – Wider support for the research role of university (including PhDs), part of emerging Research Data Management activities
- 12. www.bl.uk 12 Roles for libraries • HEIs – Advocacy and policy change • Changing guidance for the “deposit” of eTheses • Better understanding of institutional responsibilities for etheses and supplementary content • More direct engagement with the research process itself
- 13. www.bl.uk 13 Roles for libraries • HEIs – Infrastructures • Sharing • Storage – Supporting the management of content during the research phase » Backup procedures, shared storage, etc. – Supporting the longevity of content now and into the future » Requirements here are less well understood – Do institutional repositories have a role?
- 14. www.bl.uk 14 Roles for libraries • HEIs – Training and skills development • Needs to be focused at PhD level • Data management plans • Working with Doctoral Training Centres? – Guidance • Examples from ETDPlus project, e.g. on storage (backup, etc.) metadata, file formats: https://educopia.org/research/grants/etdplus – But … what skills will libraries need to do this effectively?
- 15. www.bl.uk 15 Roles for libraries • National level – Managing identifier infrastructures (e.g. DOIs, ORCID) – Management of supplementary content • Subject-based services, e.g. UK Data Archive, NERC data centres • National data services, e.g. DANS (Netherlands), ANDS (Australia) • Others, e.g. Figshare, Dryad, GitHub, etc.
- 16. www.bl.uk 16 Roles for libraries • National level – Web archives • UK Web Archive • ArchiveIt (Internet Archive) – The British Library • Support for research embedded in current strategy, “Living Knowledge” • Sharing professional expertise, e.g. involvement in Digital Preservation Coalition, International Internet Preservation Consortium, Open Preservation Foundation • Other services? – EThOS
- 17. www.bl.uk 17 Thank you Source Alastair Dunning / Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/alastair-dunning/8042902341 License: Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/legalcode