International Journal of Digital Curation
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Digital Preservation Theory and Application: Transcontinental Persistent Archives Testbed Activity
Get PDFThe National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) and EU SHAMAN projects are working with multiple research institutions on tools and technologies that will supply a comprehensive, systematic, and dynamic means for preserving virtually any type of electronic record, free from dependence on any specific hardware or software. This paper describes the joint development work between the University of Liverpool and the San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC) at the University of California, San Diego on the NARA and SHAMAN prototypes. The aim is to provide technologies in support of the required generic data management infrastructure. We describe a Theory of Preservation that quantifies how communication can be accomplished when future technologies are different from those available at present. This includes not only different hardware and software, but also different standards for encoding information. We describe the concept of a “digital ontology” to characterize preservation processes; this is an advance on the current OAIS Reference Model of providing representation information about records. To realize a comprehensive Theory of Preservation, we describe the ongoing integration of distributed shared collection management technologies, digital library browsing, and presentation technologies for the NARA and SHAMAN Persistent Archive Testbeds
Planets: Integrated Services for Digital Preservation
Get PDFThe Planets Project is developing services and technology to address core challenges in digital preservation. This article introduces the motivation for this work, describes the extensible technical architecture and places the Planets approach into the context of the Open Archival Information System (OAIS) Reference Model. It also provides a scenario demonstrating Planets’ usefulness in solving real-life digital preservation problems and an overview of the project’s progress to date
The UK LOCKSS Pilot Programme: A Perspective from the LOCKSS Technical Support Service
Get PDFOver the last decade libraries have increasingly shifted journal access from print to digital. The preference of users for online content, the demand of readers for a broader range of content, and the rising costs of library shelf space all contributed to bringing about this change. A variety of approaches has emerged to support access to these digital journals. The common ones require libraries to access content through publishers, which invariably means libraries lose long-term control of the journals to which they have subscribed. As an alternative, the Lots of Copies Keep Stuff Safe (LOCKSS) approach enables libraries to regain custody of journal assets while maintaining the access and licence terms stipulated by the publisher. This article describes the UK LOCKSS Pilot Programme; a two-year JISC/CURL (Joint Information Systems Committee/Consortium of Research Libraries in the British Isles)-funded initiative to explore issues associated with the practical implementation of LOCKSS in the UK Higher Education institutions. It examines the pilot from the perspective of the LOCKSS Technical Support Service, a core component of the Pilot Programme
Emulation for Digital Preservation in Practice: The Results
Get PDFIn recent years a lot of research has been undertaken to ascertain the most suitable preservation approach. For a long time migration was seen as the only viable approach, whereas emulation was looked upon with scepticism due to its technical complexity and initial costs. In 2004, the National Library of the Netherlands (Koninklijke Bibliotheek, [KB]) and the Nationaal Archief of the Netherlands acknowledged the need for emulation, especially for rendering complex digital objects without affecting their authenticity and integrity. A project was started to investigate the feasibility of emulation by developing and testing an emulator designed for digital preservation purposes. In July 2007 this project ended and delivered a durable x86 component-based computer emulator: Dioscuri, the first modular emulator for digital preservation
Report from the DCC Workshop: Legal Environment of Digital Curation
Get PDFThis is a report from the Legal Environment of Digital Curation workshop held at Glasgow University on November 23, 2007. The event provided an overview of legal considerations for non-legal professionals who work with data, focusing especially on intellectual property rights and licensing, data protection, freedom of information and privacy, and data as evidence. The workshop was organised in conjunction with the SCRIPT-ed journal of law and technology, and supported by JISC, the AHRC and Edinburgh University
Evolving a Network of Networks: The Experience of Partnerships in the National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program
Get PDFThe National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program (NDIIPP) was initiated in December 2000 when the U.S. Congress authorized the Library of Congress to work with a broad range of institutions to develop a national strategy for the preservation of at-risk digital content. Guided by a strategy of collaboration and iteration, the Library of Congress began the formation of a national network of partners dedicated to collecting and preserving important born-digital information. Over the last six years, the Library and its partners have been engaged in learning through action that has resulted in an evolving understanding of the most appropriate roles and functions for a national network of diverse stakeholders. The emerging network is complex and inclusive of a variety of stakeholders; content producers, content stewards and service providers from the public and private sectors. Lessons learned indicate that interoperability is a challenge in all aspects of collaborative work
Towards a Theory of Digital Preservation
Get PDFA preservation environment manages communication from the past while communicating with the future. Information generated in the past is sent into the future by the current preservation environment. The proof that the preservation environment preserves authenticity and integrity while performing the communication constitutes a theory of digital preservation. We examine the representation information that is needed about the preservation environment for a theory of digital preservation. The representation information includes descriptions of the preservation management policies, the preservation processes, and the state information that is needed to verify the correct working behavior of the system. We demonstrate rule-based data grids that can verify that prior policies correctly enforced preservation properties, while sending into the future descriptions of the current preservation management policies
The Fit Between the UK Environmental Information Regulations and the Freedom of Information Act
Get PDFThe Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) is one of seven UK Research Councils. It delivers independent research, survey, training and knowledge transfer in the environmental sciences. All the UK Research Councils are public bodies falling under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and the Environmental Information Regulations 2004. This open access legislation came into force on January 1, 2005 and since then the authors have built up substantial experience in managing NERC’s data and information under both the Act and the Regulations. This article aims to explain how to manage the, often blurred, boundary between these two pieces of legislation, and the overlap between data management and the legislation
‘Grand Theft Archive’: A Quantitative Analysis of the State of Computer Game Preservation
Get PDFComputer games, like other digital media, are extremely vulnerable to long-term loss, yet little work has been done to preserve them. As a result we are experiencing large-scale loss of the early years of gaming history. Computer games are an important part of modern popular culture, and yet are afforded little of the respect bestowed upon established media such as books, film, television and music. We must understand the reasons for the current lack of computer game preservation in order to devise strategies for the future. Computer game history is a difficult area to work in, because it is impossible to know what has been lost already, and early records are often incomplete. This paper uses the information that is available to analyse the current status of computer game preservation, specifically in the UK. It makes a quantitative analysis of the preservation status of computer games, and finds that games are already in a vulnerable state. It proposes that work should be done to compile accurate metadata on computer games and to analyse more closely the exact scale of data loss, while suggesting strategies to overcome the barriers that currently exist
The Data Audit Framework: A First Step in the Data Management Challenge
Get PDFThe Data Audit Framework provides organisations with the means to identify, locate and assess the current management of their research data assets. Armed with this information they are in a position to improve ongoing data management. In this article we share our experiences of implementing the Framework and report back on the kind of data issues researchers commonly face. We also indicate how the Framework will be further developed before being released for widespread adoption