Crisis or slow burn: preserving digital records locally

1
Crisis or slow burnpreserving digital records
locally

• DONT WORRY BE HAPPY

OR
2
Themes

• What is digital preservation about?
• What are the issues for archives?
• What is digital preservation really about?
• What can we do about what it is really about?

3
What is digital preservation about?

• If you read the books
• Over time, systems go out of use and records may
  not be readable on current technology (eg Amstrad
  pcw) need to ensure useability
• Storage media might degrade

4
Preserving Useability

• Need to ensure records can be read in the future
  using currently available technology
• Preserve original bitstream
• Then either preserve as is, or
• Migrate to preservation format

5
Passive and dynamic

• Two types of file
• Passive do not contain embedded logic
• eg MS Word, ASCII text files, plain HTML
• Dynamic - contain logic required to run
• eg web pages with embedded links, MS Word
  files with macros, Excel files with Macros

6
Preservation issues

• Passive files
• Can be reformatted and viewed with no loss of
  content or format info
• Can be translated to a newer file format and
  retain look and feel of original
• Dynamic files
• Need additional files or emulation to reproduce
  look and feel

7
Other problems

• Need to act quickly early appraisal requires a
  new and rather different approach to appraisal
  and selection
• Date of transfer 10 years not 30 years
• Life cycle management approach

8
How important is digital preservation to
archivists?

• Mixed
• Potential gap in the record.., but
• Not necessarily a high priority (FoI)
• Lack of awareness
• Need for raising awareness among CEOs etc

9
What are the issues for archives 1

• Money lack of info about costs
• Short term thinking
• Skills and experience in small offices
• IT departments ignorant of preservation
• Other agendas
• Insufficient guidance

10
What are the issues for archives 2

• Legal DP/FOI/IPR
• Who owns problem locally/nationally
• Private/external record producers
• Culture need to think about preservation on day
  one
• Political will
• Technical what operating systems and file
  formats were used?

11
Migration

• Electronic records are classified by file type
• As file types become obsolete (unreadable by
  current technology)
• Move to new format
• But cant preserve all aspects of a record

12
(No Transcript)
13
Emulation

• Instead of migrating a file type to the latest
  version
• Build a system to emulate the environment in
  which it ran (eg DOS)
• Cheaper for large volumes?
• Allows all aspects of a file to be preserved
• Would it work in reality?

14
So all you need is
Oh No you dont Forget everything I have said

• A system something like the BL are planning to
  build
• A technology watch
• At least 600,000
• Technical skills
• Solutions to all your problems

15
(No Transcript)
16
What is digital preservation really about?

• You can hire the technology pretty much

17
What you need to be able to do is

• Produce a decent specification of requirements
• This means
• Identify what you have
• Appraise
• Extract
• Describe
• Store

18
Identification

• Create an inventory of all electronic records
• Managed and unmanaged
• Identify where, who owns, relate to functions
• Collections (eg Windows folders, web sites)
• Single documents
• Look wider than you think

19
Identification 2

• Data types/systems info
• Data documentation eg database schemas
• History of technology operating systems etc
• Dates
• Access restrictions
• IPR issues

20
Storing data

• CDs are no good even if kept in a fridge
• Tape
• Hard drives
• Using standard file and media formats well
  documented
• Disaster recovery

21
What TNA imagined

• 2004 target for ERM systems in government
• Large volumes of text files
• Well structured, good metadata

22
What TNA found

• Text files largely closed for 30 years
• We are getting examples of government websites
  with dynamic content and Flash animation
• Inquiries using computer graphics, 3 dimensional
  models etc

23
Selection

• High cost of preservation
• Early appraisal (and preservation) essential
• Need for documentation
• Build into edrm systems if possible
• Can only be done at series level using inventory
  information
• Unstructured as well as structured records - be
  imaginative

24
Accessioning

• Need to develop transfer procedures and
  documentation
• Handling guidelines
• Validation checks
• Preserve original media
• Reformatting file formats

25
Description

• E-GMS Standard
• Covers 25 descriptive elements, including
  description, dates, format, preservation
  information,retention and disposal arrangements,
  etc
• Link to catalogue??
• Other metadata?

26
Life cycle management approach

• Active management from design and creation stage
  to preservation
• Corporate policies
• Corporate strategies
• Corporate procedures

27
What can be done

• Training

• Advocacy DPC, TNA, MLA, senior champion
• What happens to family history in 100 years?
• Guidance costs, funding, what to do, case
  histories UK Data Archive, Pandora

• Partnerships regional, local HE, private
  sector, archaeologists

PEOPLE NEED TO START DOING THINGS
28
Whats happening 1

• NCA Digital Preservation Committee
• First meeting in April 2004 to take forward
  developments in this area.
• Representatives from TNA, Regions, MLA, BL, UK
  Data Archive etc
• Drafting an advocacy document

29
Whats happening 2

• Regional developments UK Data Archive
• Pilot in Eastern region
• Possible other pilots

30
Whats happening at the National Archives

• Seamless Flow
• Custody policy

31
Something to take home

• The skills required
• For successful
• Digital Preservation
• Are the
• Traditional skills
• of
• Archivists and
• Records Managers

32
(No Transcript)
33
(No Transcript)
34
(No Transcript)
35
(No Transcript)
36
(No Transcript)
37
(No Transcript)
38
(No Transcript)
39
(No Transcript)
40
(No Transcript)
41
(No Transcript)
42
(No Transcript)
43
(No Transcript)