Practical Digital Data Curation

1
Practical Digital Data Curation

• Gayle Palmer, Digital Preservation Services
  Manager
• OCLC Western Service Center
• January 2006

2
Definition Data Curation

• Digital curation, broadly interpreted, is about
  maintaining and adding value to, a trusted body
  of digital information for current and future
  use.
• Digital Curation Center (DCC) United Kingdom,
  approach to digital curation (definition taken
  from Lorcan Dempseys blog)
• http//orweblog.oclc.org/cgi-bin/mt-search.cgi?Inc
  ludeBlogs1searchdatacuration

3
Definition Data Curation

• Datas future quality richness,
  trustworthiness is a function of investment in
  it.
• Philip Lord, et. al. From Data Deluge to Data
  Curation JISC Joint Committee for the Support
  of Research, DCC approach to digital curation.
• http//dev.dcc.ac.uk

4
Digital Program Data

• Frequently talk about metadata standards
• Technical infrastructure standards
• Documentation of all relevant data

5
Which data sources are important?

• Standards adopted documented
• Policies, regulations in effect
• Best Practices adopted documented
• Metadata of all types
• Technical infrastructure documentation

6
Which data sources are important?

• Legal documentation
• Intellectual property assets
• Risk management policies
• Evaluation assessment metrics
• Budget financial data
• User data

7
Standards vs implementation

• Implementation workflow
• Adoption of standards
• Adoption of best practices models
• Implementation within institutional policy
  framework
• Consistency through a local style guide
• Documentation of decisions and change management

8
Collection data sources

• In Metadata--
• Administrative
• Rights
• Descriptive
• Structural
• Technical
• Preservation

9
IT Data Sources

• In information technology
• Computers and the physical hardware used to
  interconnect them with their users users.
• Transmission media, (telephone lines, cable
  television lines, and satellites and antennas)
• also routers and other devices that control
  transmission paths.
• Software used to send, receive, and manage the
  signals that are transmitted.
• Everything that supports the flow and processing
  of information.

10
Long-term program policy and procedures

• Technology and tools will constantly change
• Policies, procedures consistently applied
• Preservation depends on program management
• Procedures for digital program should be
  reviewed, updated, vetted and documented
  regularly
• Best practices will be achieve through constant
  testing and review
• Data gathering and documentation are the best
  defense.

11
Data curation awareness

• Recognition of need
• Education training
• Start early, revise often
• Aggregation of policies, protocols, standards
• Communication of responsibility