Challenges and benefits of a collaboration of the Collaborators

Challenges and benefits of a collaboration of the Collaborators. William Kilbride, et al. Panel, iPres 2016.  (Proceedings p. 296-7 / PDF p. 149).
     The importance of collaboration in digital preservation has been emphasized by many professionals in the field. Because of rapid technological developments, the increase of digital material and the growing complexity of digital objects, "no one institution can do digital preservation on its own". Digital preservation related tasks and responsibilities has led to a network of relationships between various groups, such as the DPC and then other institutions, founded as a “collaborative effort to get digital preservation on the agenda of key decision-makers and funders”. These organizations are help to encourage collaboration to help libraries, archives, museums and experts to work together to ensure the long-term preservation and accessibility of digital sources

A logical next step is to establish a larger collaborative infrastructure to preserve all relevant digital data from the public sector. This would require storage facilities, but also knowledge and manpower to ensure proper management of the facilities. There must be agreement about which tasks and  responsibilities can be performed by the institutions themselves, and which could be carried out in collaboration with others. This seems to be the right time to join forces, to be more effective in our work, and to share our experiences. This can help answer questions about prioritization, solutions and policies for the next steps in international collaboration.

Digital Preservation Matters.

New Report on Web Archiving Available

New Report on Web Archiving Available. Andrea Goethals. IIPC. 21 March 2016.
     Harvard Library recently released a report to:

• explore and document current web archiving programs
• identify common practices, needs, and expectations in the collection of web archives
• identify the provision and maintenance of web archiving infrastructure and services;
• identify the use of web archives by researchers.

The environmental scan showed 22 opportunities for future research and development, which includes:

• Dedicate full-time staff to work in web archiving to keep up on latest developments, best practices and be part of the web archiving community.
• Conduct outreach, training and professional development for existing staff who are being asked to collect web archives.
• Institutional web archiving programs should be transparent about holdings, terms of use, preservation commitment, are curatorial decisions made for each capture.
• Develop a collection development tool to show holdings information to researchers and other collecting institutions.
• Train researchers to be able to analyze big data found in web archives.
• Establish a standard for describing the curatorial decisions behind collecting web archives.
• Establish a feedback loop between researchers and the librarians/archivists.

There is also a need to "radically increase communication and collaboration" among all involved in web archiving. Much more communication and collaboration is needed between those collecting web content and researchers who would like to use it.

Digital Preservation Matters.

Five Takeaways from AOIR 2015

Five Takeaways from AOIR 2015. Rosalie Lack. Netpreserve blog. 18 November 2015. 
     A blog post on the annual Association of Internet Researchers (AOIR) conference in
Phoenix, AZ. The key takeaways in the article:

1. Digital Methods Are Where It’s At.  Researchers are recognizing that digital research skills are essential. And, if you have some basic coding knowledge, all the better. The Digital Methods Initiative from Europe has tons of great information, including an amazing list of tools.
2. Twitter API Is also Very Popular
3. Social Media over Web Archives. Researchers used social media more than web archived materials.  
4. Fair Use Needs a PR Movement. There is a lot of misunderstanding or limited understanding of fair use, even for those scholars who had previously attended a fair use workshop. Many admitted that they did not conduct particular studies because of a fear of violating copyright. 
5. Opportunities for Collaboration.  Many researchers were unaware of tools or services they can use and/or that their librarians/archivists have solutions.

There is a need for librarians/archivists to conduct more outreach to researchers and to talk with them about preservation solutions, good data management practices and copyright.

Digital Preservation Matters.

DPOE Interview with Danielle Spalenka of the Digital POWRR Project

DPOE Interview with Danielle Spalenka of the Digital POWRR Project. Susan Manus, Barrie Howard. The Signal. July 20, 2015.
     Article about an interview with Danielle Spalenka, Project Director for the Digital POWRR Project. They had a National Leadership Grant to investigate digital preservation at institutions with limited resources. They have prepared a workshop, a white paper and the Tool Grid. The workshop, free through the end of 2016 with funding is from the NEH, looks at best practices and standards. 

Our review of the landscape of digital preservation instruction was that it is largely aimed at an audience beginning to come to grips with the idea that digital objects are subject to loss if we don’t actively care for them. There are lots of offerings discussing the theory of digital preservation – the “why” of the problem – and we found that there were limited opportunities to learn the “how” of digital preservation, both on the advocacy and technical sides. We also found that other great offerings, like the Digital Preservation Management Workshop Series based at MIT, had a tuition fee that was unaffordable for many prospective attendees, especially from under-funded institutions. Our goal in this phase is to make the workshops free to attend.

"A major goal of the workshop is to discuss specific tools and provide a hands-on portion so that participants could try a tool that they could apply directly at their own institutions." It provides an  overview of how digital preservation services and tools actually relate to the standards, how to use them in a workflow, and how to advocate for implementation. The POWRR Tool Grid is now maintained by COPTR (Community Owned digital Preservation Tool Registry).

Some recommendations for those just starting out:

• First consider what type of tool you might be interested in (processing, storage, etc.) Looking at the specific function of a tool might be a good place to understand the wide variety of tools better.
• A number of tools and services offer free webinars and information sessions to learn more about a specific tool. Download the tools to gain some hands-on experience.
• Remember that digital preservation is an incremental process, and there are small steps you can take now to start digital preservation activities at your own institution. 
• Remember you are not alone! 
• See what others are doing and talking about. 
• Ask a question on the Digital Preservation Q&A forum. You can also learn about the latest in digital preservation activities through blogs like The Signal and the blog Digital Preservation Matters. Attend a free POWRR workshop!

Related posts:

• From Theory to Action: Good Enough Digital Preservation for Under-Resourced Cultural Heritage Institutions
• Phase Two of POWRR: Extending the Reach of Digital Preservation Workshops
• POWRR Tool Grid
• Digital Preservation Tool Grid.

Digital Preservation Matters.

Dutch digital developments

Dutch digital developments.  Digital Preservation Seeds. March 29, 2015.
There are national strategy plans to streamline and intensify initiatives concerning the digital heritage and to focus on collaboration between all “cultural heritage organizations’ in the Netherlands. The collaboration would look at the big organisations in specific areas offering services and assistance to  their colleagues from smaller organizations. Also by having shared initiatives across types of institutions, such as museums and archives, to make collected material more visible to the public.
The goals of the working groups are:

1. Making digital heritage visible. Identify what the public expects expects from digital heritage and how they want to use it, and how to promote the digital collections to make them more visible. 
2. Making digital heritage usable. Look for ways to improve collections, the find-ability, and to work together with researchers to improve search facilities.
3. Preserve digital heritage for the long term. The infrastructure for digital preservation needs to be developed and to use already existing experience and facilities.

Achieving these goals will hopefully lead to an integrated approach to improve the access and preservation of our digital heritage. 

Digital Preservation Matters.

Significance 2.0: a guide to assessing the significance of collection

Significance 2.0: a guide to assessing the significance of collections. Roslyn Russell, Kylie Winkworth. Collections Council of Australia Ltd. 2009.
This guide is for defining an adaptable method for determining significance across all collections in Australia. The intention is that it will improve collection decision-making in areas such as, preservation, access, and funding support. Regarding significance:

• We cannot keep everything forever. It is vital we make the best use of our scarce resources for collecting, conserving, documenting and digitising our collection materials.
• Significance is not an absolute state; it can change over time.  
• Collection custodians have a responsibility to consult communities and respect other views in constructing societal memory and identity. 
• It is vital to understand, respect and document the context of collection materials that shape collection materials.

Significance’ refers to the values and meanings that items and collections have for people and communities. Significance helps unlock the potential of collections, creating opportunities for
communities to understand, access and enjoy collections. Artistic, scientific and social or
spiritual values are the criteria or key values that help to express how and why an item or collection is significant. Part of the criteria are: provenance, rarity or representativeness, condition or completeness, and interpretive capacity. Significance assessment involves five main steps:

1. analysing an item or collection
2. researching its history, provenance and context
3. comparison with similar items
4. understanding its values by reference to the criteria
5. summarising its meanings and values in a statement of significance

 A statement of significance is a concise summary of the values, meaning and importance of an item
or collection. It is an argument about how and why an item or collection is of value. This should be reviewed as circumstances change.  Significance assessment is

• a process to help with good management of items and collections; 
• it is a collaborative process and consultation is essential.
• it will substantiate justify assessments objectively rather than subjectively

The process is:

1. Collate information about the history and development of the collection
2. Research the history, scope and themes of the collection
3. Consult knowledgeable people
4. Explore the context of the collection
5. Analyse and describe the condition of the collection
6. Compare the collection with similar collections
7. Identify related places and collections
8. Assess significance against the criteria
9. Write a statement of significance
10. List recommendations and actions

Significance assessment is only the first part of the significance process. Once an item or collection has been assessed as significant, there will be a range of actions to better manage the collections.
 

Digital Preservation Matters.

New Expert Panel Report From Council of Canadian Academies Says Canada’s Memory Institutions “Falling Behind” in Preservation of Digital Materials

New Expert Panel Report From Council of Canadian Academies Says Canada’s Memory Institutions “Falling Behind” in Preservation of Digital Materials. Gary Price. Library Journal. February 4, 2015.
An expert panel report, Leading in the Digital World: Opportunities for Canada’s Memory Institutions, (208 pages; PDF) addresses the challenges and opportunities that exist for libraries, archives, museums, and galleries as they adapt to the digital age. Vast amounts of digital information are at risk of being lost because many traditional tools are no longer adequate in the digital age. Memory institutions face the difficult task of preserving digital files in formats that will remain accessible over the long term. Institutions to collaborate more strategically and develop interactive relationships with users. They must also be leaders within and among their respective organizations. Many of the challenges faced are rooted in technical issues associated with managing digital content, the sheer volume of digital information, and the struggle to remain relevant. Collaboration is essential for adaptation, which enables institutions to access the resources required to deliver the  services that users now expect.

Digital Preservation Matters.

An Intern Considers the Digital Preservation Challenge

An Intern Considers the Digital Preservation Challenge, Part 1 & Part 2. Jennifer Clark. The Signal. March 27-28, 2013.
Some items from the articles to remember:

• People working with archival or heritage resources actually do know that digital preservation is important and even essential, but they aren’t always sure of the best ways of approaching the problem and achieving success in their preservation activities.
• Digital objects are no longer just for viewing or reading but also for data analysis and visualization. It is not sufficient to save these items merely for human interaction; we must also preserve for future machine interaction as well.
•  digital preservationists must value pragmatism over idealism to make sure as many of our digital objects are as safe as possible.
• we will not have anything to process if we don’t acquire as much at-risk material as we can right now.
• Making progress in digital preservation is not just an issue of technology and tools; it’s also an issue of collaboration.the future of the profession is not only to become advocates, but also to become collaborators. 
• convince people of the future value of their digital objects in a way that is important to them
• The easiest way to get people to become fellow collaborators is to tap into their familiar workflows and to seamlessly integrate preservation activities, rather than trying to create a parallel workflow or impose an entirely new one.
  
  
  
  Digital Preservation Matters.