September 2008 - December 2008
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Compiled by Najla Rettberg for the Digital Preservation Coalition (DPC) and reviewed by PADI, The National Library of Australia
30 January 2009
This is an archived issue of What's New.
Also available as a print-friendly PDF (241KB).
Known problem links in online versions and PDFs are disabled (or updated when the issue is current) but it is not always possible to annotate the amendments in PDFs with a date or other information which may appear in the online version.
This is a summary of selected recent activity in the field of digital preservation compiled from a number of resources including the digital-preservation and padiforum-l mailing lists. Additional or related items of interest may also be included.
Contents:
- News from organisations and initiatives
1.1 Digital Preservation Coalition (DPC) (UK)
1.2 Digital Curation Centre (DCC) (UK)
1.3 JISC (UK)
1.4 The British Library
1.5 PLANETS (Preservation and Long-term Access through Networked Services)
1.6 CASPAR
1.7 University of London Computing Centre (ULCC)
1.8 Alliance for Permanent Access
1.9 Library of Congress and the National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program (NDIIPP)
1.10 The National Archives (UK)
1.11 nestor (Network of Expertise in Long-Term Storage of Digital Resources) - Specific themes
2.1 Digital Preservation - definitions, frameworks and directions
2.2 Digitisation and preservation
2.3 Research data
2.4 Copyright and IPR
2.5 Web Archiving
2.6 Digital preservation life cycle
2.7 Function specific
2.8 Tools and standards - Other publications
- Events
4.1 Recent Events
4.2 Current and Forthcoming Events
4.3 Training Events
1. News from organisations and initiatives
1.1 Digital Preservation Coalition (DPC)
In September the DPC co-sponsored the organisation of iPRES 2008, the fifth in the series of annual international conferences which bring together researchers and practitioners from around the world to explore the latest trends, innovations, thinking, and practice in digital preservation. The DPC also chaired panel discussions examining the status of training and curriculum development and international digital preservation initiatives.
A joint workshop by the DPC was held with the Repositories Support Project (RSP), the Digital Curation Centre (DCC) and the JISC in December on 'Tackling the Preservation Challenge: Practical Steps for Repository Managers'. The workshop brought together key stakeholders, the repository managers and preservation experts, at a practical focussed event to talk together and share perspectives, requirements, problems and solutions. As well as formal presentations, the marketplace provided an opportunity to view posters, and engage with project teams and see demonstrations of the latest tools. Presentations from the day are available on the DPC website. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from:
http://www.dpconline.org/graphics/events/081212RepMngrsWkshp.html
A joint meeting of members of the Digital Preservation Coalition (DPC) and the DCC Associates Network members was held on 13 October 2006 to prepare a joint report for the 5 year review of the Open Archival Information System (OAIS) Standard. The resulting report, "OAIS Five-year review Recommendations for update", was submitted to the Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems (CCSDS), Data Archiving and Ingest Working Group in October 2006. Comment on this report was received in September 2008.The output from the workshop is now available on the DPC website. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from:
http://www.dpconline.org/graphics/events/081201OaisWkshp.html
In October a DPC led bid was awarded a contract to complete work on the JISC Digitisation Programme: Preservation Study. The consortium, which comprises of the ULCC, Portico and the DPC, responded to the JISC ITT in September. The work is being undertaken between November 2008 - March 2009. The main aims of the study are:
i. To study the preservation plans and processes of the digitisation projects, identifying possible areas of risk.
ii. To offer recommendations, at both an individual project level and for JISC as a whole, for processes and strategies for mitigating the risk.
iii. To provide case studies which would be helpful to the broader community
The project now has its own website. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from:
http://digipressurvey.jiscinvolve.org/
A report from a survey on digital preservation in local authorities was released on the DPC website as well as presentations from an open consultation day at the TNA. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from: http://www.dpconline.org/docs/miscellaneous/advocacy/338-digital-preservation-survey-report/file
An article in Ariadne also describes the study.
Boyle, F., Eveleigh, A. & Needham, H (2008) Report on the Survey Regarding Digital Preservation in Local Authority Archive Services. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from:
http://www.dpconline.org/docs/reports/digpressurvey08.pdf
December saw the DPC welcome Tate as new Associate Members, bringing its membership up to thirty.
1.2 Digital Curation Centre (DCC)
The DCC has released two new case studies featuring eScience projects. The CARMEN project and the SCARP project are two important studies which are examined. The case studies explore disciplinary approaches to curation and the data curation requirements of the eScience community. They also examine the nature of the data and the process of curation in assessing risks to the long-term value of these key data sets.
Whyte, A (2008) Curating Brain Images in a Psychiatric Research Group: Infrastructure and Preservation Issues. SCARP Case Study No. 1 University of Edinburgh. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from:
http://www.dcc.ac.uk/resource/case-studies/scarp/SCARP_B4821_NeuroCase_v1_1.pdf
Pryor, G (2008) CARMEN (Code, Analysis, Repository, & Modelling for e-Neuroscience) DCC eScience Longtitudinal Study No. 1 Digital Curation Centre. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from:
http://www.dcc.ac.uk/resource/case-studies/carmen/carmen.pdf
Over the past few months the DCC has been raising awareness of the Data Audit Framework (DAF) through its outreach programme. Talks and workshops have been provided at international events such as the CNI Fall Task Force Meeting and the International Digital Curation Conference, as well as through core DCC community building events such as the collaborative e-Science workshop in Sheffield.
The four DAF pilot implementation projects run by University of Edinburgh, King's College London, Imperial College London and University College London, are also progressing well. Edinburgh has recently submitted the final project report so this will shortly be available and UCL has established a project website where progress can be tracked. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from:
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/ls/data-audit/
An article about the lessons learned when implementing the Framework can also be found in the recent edition of the International Journal of Digital Curation.
Jones, S., Ball, A., Ekmekcioglu, C (2008) 'The Data Audit Framework: A First Step in the Data Management Challenge' International Journal of Digital Curation, Vol 3, No 2 2008. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from:
http://www.ijdc.net/index.php/ijdc/article/view/91
The 4th International Digital Curation Conference was held in Edinburgh on 1st-3rd December 2008. Presentations are available from the DCC's website. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from: http://www.dcc.ac.uk/events/dcc-2008/. ULCC's Da Blog and the DCC Blog recorded some initial observations. Da Blog. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from:
http://dablog.ulcc.ac.uk/2008/12/03/the-4th-international-digital-curation-conference-idcc4/ Digital Curation Blog. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from:
http://digitalcuration.blogspot.com/2008/12/international-digital-curation.html
1.3 JISC
A new JISC call has been announced for a range of projects addressing issues in the area of repositories, preservation and virtual learning environments. £10.6m is being made available for innovative projects that will benefit the UK Higher Education sector. More information is available from the JISC website. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from:
http://www.jisc.ac.uk/fundingopportunities/funding_calls/2008/12/grant1208
JISC has recently released a publication on Digital Preservation Policies. This JISC funded study completed by Charles Beagrie Ltd aims to provide an outline model for digital preservation policies and to analyse the role that digital preservation can play in supporting and delivering key strategies for Higher and Further Education Institutions. Although focussing on the UK Higher and Further Education sectors, the study draws widely on policy and implementations from other sectors and countries and will be of interest to those wishing to develop policy and justify investment in digital preservation within a wide range of institutions. Two tools are available in the report: a model digital preservation policy and a series of mappings of digital preservation strategies to UK HE strategies. The report can be found via the JISC website. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from:
http://www.jisc.ac.uk/publications/publications/jiscpolicyfinalreport.aspx
Other activity during this period includes the publication of the JISC Preservation of Web Resources Handbook (JISC-PoWR) which constitutes a readable and practical approach to a subject of wide concern to a number of different audiences, many of whom are concerned about the potential loss of valuable material that only exists on the web. The handbook can be found at the JISC website. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from:
http://www.jisc.ac.uk/media/documents/programmes/preservation/powrhandbookv1.pdf
An evaluation of phase 2 of the JISC-funded Digital Curation Centre commenced on the 1st of December (coinciding with the start of the 4th International Conference on Digital Curation which was organised by the DCC). The evaluation is being carried out by a team of consultants over a period of 4 months and should provide JISC and the wider community with invaluable information about how well the DCC is addressing the digital curation and preservation requirements that were set out in its remit for phase 2. It should also provide some analysis of the requirements that are surfacing from the community itself which will assist JISC with determining the future shape and scope of the DCC as they contemplate a third phase of existence from February 2010 onwards.
iPRES 2008 came to the British Library at the end of September. JISC was pleased to be one of the sponsors of such a successful and significant event and it was great to see so much JISC-funded work being presented during the two days of the conference. The panel session, 'National and International Initiatives' was put together and chaired by JISC and in addition to introducing JISC funding plans for the 2008 / 2009 period, it also featured presentations from representatives of preservation programmes in the U.S., New Zealand and Germany, followed by a lively plenary discussion.
1.4 The British Library
The Digital Lives Research Project is progressing well. An online questionnaire was prepared and directed at the way people use their computers at home; it follows on from earlier work involving the interviewing of various creators of personal archives including scientists, writers, a politician and postgraduate students. The questionnaire was presented to two broad populations: the digital public via a professional survey route; and academics and scholars via a local route involving invitations sent to academic societies. In total more than 3,400 responses were achieved. The data from the two sources have been compiled and preliminary analysis has begun. Data collection and analysis will continue until the end of March, after which the final report and a further series of papers will be prepared, with completion set for June 2009.
The project currently has its sights on the forthcoming conference on 9-11 February 2009 at the British Library, which will continue the process of engaging with key people in digital curation, digital preservation and information science, along with people in the web service and related professions. More information can be found at the project's website. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from: http://www.bl.uk/digital-lives/
The Fifth International Conference on the Preservation of Digital Objects (iPRES) 2008 was hosted by The British Library on 29th and 30th September, in London. The conference had the theme 'Joined Up and Working: Tools and Methods for Digital Preservation'. It brought together over 250 delegates from 33 countries, and was commended in feedback from attendees.
This year's iPRES featured, for the first time, two tracks to cater for the wide-ranging interests of delegates: Practitioner for those with an interest in preserving digital content in their organisation, and Technical for those with an interest in the underpinning concepts and technology. Presentations and panels outlined advancements in digital storage, software systems, preservation of objects from manuscripts to video games, models enabling organisations to target activity, web archiving, skills training, national and international projects and the creation and capture of descriptive data.
Two clear and succinct reports about the iPRES event can be found in the recent edition of Ariadne, and in the International Journal of Digital Curation
Boyle, F & Farquhar, A (2008) "PRES 2008: 'Joined Up and Working: Tools and Methods for Digital Preservation'" Ariadne 57 October 2008. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from:
http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue57/ipres-2008-rpt/
Ball, A., Day, M., & Patel, M (2008) 'The Fifth International Conference on Preservation of Digital Objects (iPRES 2008)' International Journal of Digital Curation, Vol 3, No 2 2008. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from:
http://www.ijdc.net/index.php/ijdc/article/view/89
Several blogs also provided almost real-time reporting of the event. Of note are Chris Rusbridge's account as well as ULCC's Da Blog.
Digital Curation Blog. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from:
http://digitalcuration.blogspot.com/2008_09_01_archive.html
Da Blog. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from:
http://dablog.ulcc.ac.uk/2008/10/01/ipres2008-first-impressions/
The programme, together with presentations and conference proceedings (ISBN 978-0-7123-0913-4), are available at the BL website. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from:
http://www.bl.uk/ipres2008/programme.html
1.5 PLANETS (Preservation and Long-term Access through Networked Services)
Version 2 of Dioscuri, a modular emulator for digital preservation, has been released. A report detailing the extension to the software is now available.
KB-NL (2008) Second Version of Dioscuri Retrieved 10 January 2009 from:
http://www.planets-project.eu/docs/reports/Planets_PA5-D6-Second_version_of_Dioscuri_final.pdf
The Planets Testbed is now available to all Planets partners, supported by a Helpdesk, in preparation for being opened for external experiments in mid 2009. The next Planets newsletter, due for publication on the Planets website by the end of January 2009, is expected to provide more details of the Testbed and preparations for experiments by external institutions.
Version 2 of Plato, the Planets preservation planning tool, has been released, and has generated a lot of interest. A recent paper describes the next version and is intended to accompany the software.
Tuwien (2008) Planets Planning Tool (version 2) Retrieved 10 January 2009 from:
http://www.planets-project.eu/docs/reports/Planets_PP4-D4_PlanetsPlanningTool.pdf
Other recent project activities include a paper submitted to iPRES 2008 by project staff as well as the Planets September Newsletter also holds more information about the project. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from:
http://www.planets-project.eu/docs/newsletters/PlanetsNewsletterIssue5.pdf
Dappert, A & Farquhar, A (2008) 'Modelling Organizational Preservation Goals to Guide Digital Preservation' Proceedings of the Fifth International Conference on Preservation of Digital Objects (iPRES 2008). London, UK, September 29 - 30, 2008. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from: http://www.bl.uk/ipres2008/presentations_day1/02_Dappert.pdf
1.6 CASPAR
The CASPAR project has made some major developments, especially with regard to the building blocks. Based on the OAIS Functional Model, the CASPAR Architecture Team has identified 11 CASPAR Key Components: registry (REG), knowledge (KM), orchestration (POM), representation information (REPINFO), preservation datastore (PDS), data access and security (DAMS), digital rights (DRM), finding aids (FIND), virtualisation (VIRT), packaging (PACK) and authenticity (AUTH).
These CASPAR key components can be seen as part of the 6 OAIS macro functional areas (ingestion, data management, storage, preservation planning, administration and access) and have been working together to fulfill all the OAIS responsibilities of an archive. In particular five main functional blocks have been identified .
CASPAR is adopting a distributed architecture and each key component is self-contained and portable. Moreover, a lot of effort has been spent to define an architecture model that is as independent from the technology as possible. In this way CASPAR can be an open system able to interoperate with as many different systems as possible and can be operated and re–implemented in the framework of existing preservation solutions, without dependencies on specific platforms and frameworks.
The first release of the CASPAR software, the Lion release already covers the majority of the key components. A second one, the Tiger release, is almost ready. It will include a greater set of functionalities and will be available by the end of December 2009. The software is available via the project website. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from:
http://www.casparpreserves.eu/publications/software–releases/
As CASPAR enters its final year, we shall see more software releases and communications materials.The CASPAR testbed videos will be available for download at the end of January 2009. The videos will give an in-depth look into what each testbed has been working on and show exactly how CASPAR is helping preserve data within the testbed areas. The CASPAR website contains more information on these topics. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from: www.casparpreserves.eu
1.7 University of London Computing Centre (ULCC)
ULCC published version 1.0 of the JISC PoWR Handbook in November 2008. The Handbook is the result of ULCC's work with UKOLN on the JISC Preservation of Web Resources project, which included three hugely valuable workshops in 2008, and extensive discussion on the PoWR blog. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from: http://jiscpowr.jiscinvolve.org The Handbook aims to cover the area in as accessible a way as possible. The workshops, attended by both web-management and records-management professionals from HE institutions, brought a wide range of concerns and issues to light.
The Handbook is available via the JISC website. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from: http://jiscpowr.jiscinvolve.org/handbook/ and also on Scribd. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/7760433/JISC-PoWR-The-Preservation-of-Web-Resources-Handbook and on Issuu. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from:
http://issuu.com/bezbozhnik/docs/powrhandbookv1?mode=embed&documentId=081105142608-2c8e55acf1ce47369742c1453ef04bc6&layout=grey
1.8 Alliance for Permanent Access
A concise report of the EU Alliance for Permanent Access 2008 Conference entitled Keeping the Records of Science Accessible; Can We Afford it? is now available. The report highlights some key presentations, in keeping with the theme of business models and sustainability. The report ends with a list of recommendations for the future of the Alliance. All presentations from the conference are available from the Alliance website. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from:
http://www.alliancepermanentaccess.eu/
Angevaare, I (2008) Keeping the Records of Science Accessible; Can We Afford it? Report on the 2008 Annual Conference of the Alliance for Permanent Access. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from:
http://www.alliancepermanentaccess.eu/documenten/Alliance2008conference_report.pdf
1.9 Library of Congress and the National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program (NDIIPP)
The Library of Congress, along with the California Digital Library, University of North Texas Libraries, Internet Archive and U.S. Government Printing Office, undertook preservation of public U.S. federal government web sites before the new presidential administration takes office. New administrations typically change the policies of federal agencies, which results in major web site changes. This project will add to existing election and government web site collections. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from:
http://www.digitalpreservation.gov/news/2008/20080902news_article_endofterm.html
A dozen U.S. agencies are working with the Library to establish guidelines for digitizing historical books, manuscripts, maps, photographs and sound and video recordings. The guidelines are based on collaborative research and combined experience. A web site provides a glossary of digitisation terms and concepts, as well as pertinent news and events from the participating agencies. Two working groups, one addressing content that can be captured in still images, and the second focusing on sound, video, and motion-picture content, are meeting regularly and updating the Web site. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from: http://digitizationguidelines.gov/
NDIIPP hosted a meeting of social science data stewards from seven nations to discuss forming a Data Archive Technology Alliance. Organisers of the meeting included the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research, which is the lead partner for the NDIIPP Data-PASS project. The intent of the meeting was to establish a network of social science data archives to collaborate in developing shared technologies for the future. Cooperation would aim to promote and set standards for shared, open-source and community developed technologies for data curation, preservation, and sharing. Among the reasons cited for forming the alliance was progress in developing multi-institutional workflow processes in the U.S. through Data-PASS; in Europe through the Council of European Social Science Data Archives; and in Australia through the Australian Social Science Data Archive. Presentations focused on existing standards, shared technological approaches, funding models and governance structures. Spirited discussion led to a broad consensus for moving ahead with alliance planning. The group also agreed that it was critical to clearly define the purpose and outcome of the effort in a manner that would appeal to potential funders. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from:
http://www.digitalpreservation.gov/news/2008/20081028news_article_DataTechAlliance.html
An inventory of digital preservation tools and services designed, developed or used by NDIIPP partners is now available. Over two-dozen entities are listed along with details about the developer, software requirements, download location, documentation, and license. The inventory will be added to and updated over time. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from:
http://www.digitalpreservation.gov/partners/resources/tools/index.html
1.10 The National Archives (UK)
The National Archives (TNA) is working with government departments to make sure that links on government sites remain live over time. This will ensure continuing access to online documents, which is vitally important for everyone from government ministers and civil servants, through to academics and the general public. The solution is innovative yet simple - combine regular web harvesting with the installation of redirection software. This will redirect users if the web link they've clicked on is not active, either to relevant live content or to information captured in the web archive. The UK Government Web Archive is available at the TNA's website. Retrieved 15 January 2009 from:
www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/webarchive
Good progress has been made so far:
- Expansion of web archiving across central government, three times a year - including all departments, agencies and non departmental public bodies (NDPBs).
- Development of a Government Website Database, which will go live early in 2009. It shows website owners which sites are being archived, and when.
- Introduction of a banner at the top of the archived websites that clearly tells users that they are no longer in a live site. This is particularly valuable when users are automatically redirected to the web archive from a live site.
- Development of new categories to make browsing the web archive from The National Archives' website more user-friendly.
- Establishment of a web continuity community on the Digital People Network, sharing knowledge and news.
- Customisation of web redirection software and drafted guidance on its use, which is currently out for consultation.
- Working with Government departments to implement the redirection tool.
- Agreement of monitoring processes and will begin monitoring main government departments from early 2009.
- Running of a programme of training and information events since May 2008, with further events planned in the New Year.
To find out more about The National Archives’ Web Continuity project visit the TNA website. Retrieved 15 January 2009 from:
www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/webcontinuity
1.11 nestor (Network of Expertise in Long-Term Storage of Digital Resources)
The second revised version of the "Catalogue of Criteria for Trusted Digital Repositories" (in German) was released by the nestor working group "Trusted Repositories/Certification".
Arbeitsgruppe Vertrauenswurdige Archive - Zertifizierung (2008) Nestor-Kriterien Kriterienkatalog vertrauenswurdige digitale Langzeitarchive. Version 2. nestor-Materialien 8. Accessed 20 January 2009 from:
http://www.langzeitarchivierung.de/downloads/mat/nestor_mat_08.pdf
A guideline for information transfers between producers and digital archives has been developed by the nestor working group "Standards for Metadata, Transfer of Objekts to digital long-term Archive. The guideline (in German) is open for comment.
Arbeitsgruppe Standards fur Metadaten, Transfer von Objekten in digitale Langzeitarchive und Objektzugriff (2008) Wege ins Archiv. Ein Leitfaden fur die Informationsubernahme in das digitale Langzeitarchiv. Version 1 - zur fur offentlichen Kommentierung. nestor-Materialien 10. Accessed 20 January 2009 from:
http://www.langzeitarchivierung.de/downloads/mat/nestor_mat_10.pdf
The Newsletter from September 2008 can be found (in English) on the nestor website. Retrieved 19 January 2009 from:
http://nestor.sub.uni-goettingen.de/newsletter/index.php
2. Specific themes
2.1 Digital Preservation - definitions, frameworks & directions
The Blue Ribbon Task Force (BRTF) on Sustainable Digital Preservation and Access has issued its interim report. The report stresses the situation faced is urgent, and there is little time to waste in implementing digital preservation solutions. The main challenges include inadequacy of funding; poor communication between stakeholders; and little institutional incentive. This document is accessible from the BRTF website. The final report is due in late 2009.
The Blue Ribbon Task Force (2008) Sustaining the Digital Investment: Issues and Challenges of Economically Sustainable Digital Preservation. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from:
http://www.sdsc.edu/News%20Items/PR121608_brtf_report.html
2.2 Digitisation and preservation
A number of digitisation projects are building digital preservation practices into their digitisation procedures.
A project at the University of Bristol, 'Capturing the Past, Preserving the Future' is digitising video collections, with a view to digitisation for preservation. Another aspect of the project is looking into preserving the carriers themselves, initiating an interesting hardware preservation project. More information can be found via the project website. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from:
http://www.bris.ac.uk/drama/staff_research/digitisation/
DARIAH (Digital Research Infrastructure for the Arts and Humanities) started in September 2008 and is a partnership of European organizations, promoting preservation, exchange and reuse of research data. It is primarily a digitisation support service for the arts and humanities but it also offers advice on preservation and provides a technical framework to enable data sharing. The project website contains more information. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from: http://www.dariah.eu/
The Library of Congress is a participant in the newly formed Federal Agencies Digitisation Guidelines Initiative. Two working groups exist, one for still images and one for audio visual materials. Special reference is made to digital preservation in the charters for both groups, as well as looking at procedures for quality control. Detailed metadata schemas can be found via the Initiative's website. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from:
http://www.digitizationguidelines.gov/.
A short article in College and Research Libraries News by Paul Conway highlights the 'tectonic' shift in output of digital resources, and the impact that such large scale digitisation will have on digital preservation practices.
Conway, P (2008) 'Tec(h)tonics: Reimagining preservation' C&RL News, v.69 No. 10 November 2008. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from:
http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/acrl/publications/crlnews/2008/nov/techtonics.cfm
2.3 Research Data
The DCC have produced a briefing paper which describes the data accreditation process. It highlights how benchmarked standards against which data can be checked are of benefit to the HE/FE and eScience communities.
Abbott, D (2008) Data Quality and Accreditation. DCC Briefing Paper. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from:
http://www.dcc.ac.uk/resource/briefing-papers/data-accreditation/
Treloar, A & Wilkinson, R (2008) 'Access to Data for eResearch: Designing the Australian National Data Service Discovery Services' International Journal of Digital Curation, Vol 3, No 2 2008. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from:
http://www.ijdc.net/index.php/ijdc/article/view/95
The UK Research Data Service (UKRDS) have submitted their final report which will soon be published. The study was commissioned to explore models for the provision of a national e-infrastructure for research data management and has included major UK stakeholders. The report will be the subject of an international conference to be held in February. More information on the report and the conference can be found via the UKRDS website. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from: http://www.ukrds.ac.uk/
2.4 Copyright and IPR
Besek et al. carried out a review of current international copyright laws. From the results gathered, it is evident that while attempts are being made, no country yet has a national uniform approach for collecting digital materials. Recommendations include drafting national policies and adapting copyright laws accordingly.
The DRIVER project has responded to an EU paper on copyright. The response can be found on the DRIVER website, and highlights why the research community should get more involved with the development of licensing schemes.
DRIVER and eIFL (Electronic Information for Libraries) have signed an agreement to further the cause of open access and the exchange of information between repositories. The Press Release can be found at the DRIVER website. DRIVER website. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from: http://www.driver-community.eu/. Press release: Retrieved 10 January 2009 from:
http://www.driver-support.eu/documents/EU_green_paper_comments_DRIVER_0811.pdf
An article in Ariadne analyses the current situation with regard to open access and copyright rules. The article examines attitudes of the academic community, the role of the copyright holder, and important cost factors. It details cost and licensing factors in two different institutions, and also sets out a number of critical recommendations for open access.
Besek, J., Coates, J., Fitzgerald, B., Mossink, W., LeFurgy, W., Muir, A., Rasenberger, M., & Weston, C (2008) 'Digital Preservation and Copyright: An International Study' International Journal of Digital Curation, Vol 3, No 2 2008. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from:
http://www.ijdc.net/index.php/ijdc/article/viewFile/90/61
DRIVER (2008) DRIVER: Comments on the EC Green Paper 'Copyright in the Knowledge Economy'. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from:
http://www.driver-support.eu/newsevents.php?item=nDRIVER:Comme60
Waaijers, L (2008) 'Copyright Angst, Lust for Prestige and Cost Control: What Institutions Can Do to Ease Open Access' Ariadne 57 October 2008. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from:
from: http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue57/waaijers-et-al/
2.5 Web Archiving
A student project in the US, K-12 Web Archiving set out to select and archive a selection of websites, from the perspective of high school students. More information can be found via the 'Archive-It website'. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from: http://www.archive-it.org/k12/
The ContextMiner is a project based web archiving tool from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The tool is an automated crawler which collects contextual information, analyses the information and monitors future developments to the object, all via running a 'campaign' which collects the data, as well as contextual information about the object. Links to blogs and online media are also collected. The project has its own website. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from:
http://www.contextminer.org/index.php
The International Internet Preservation Consortium (IIPC) has announced its survey of members. The survey intended to gather information about its members' web preservation activities, and provides interesting reading as to how different institutions approach archiving, for example guidelines, staffing, metrics. Of particular interest is the survey question on legal issues and access restrictions.
An article in D-Lib describes the 8th International Workshop on Web Archiving. A large range of projects and organisations were represented at the workshop, including the Living Web Archive (LiWA) and the Danish Netarchive projects. Another web archiving event is written up in Ariadne about a workshop held by the JISC-PoWR project. The article contains some interesting personal insights into such a challenging topic. An article in Program outlines how the National and University Library of Croatia carried out to assess the costs of archiving legal deposit websites. The results were compared to the same exercise carried out by the National Library of Australia. (N.B this article is available only to Program online journal subscribers)
Eddie, C (2008) 'Embedding Web Preservation Strategies Within Your Institution' Ariadne 57 October 2008. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from:
http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue57/jisc-powr-2008-09-rpt/
Grotke, A (2008) International Internet Preservation Consortium: 2008 Member Profile Survey Results. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from:
http://www.netpreserve.org/publications/IIPC_Survey_Report_Public_12152008.pdf
Mirna Willer, Tanja Buzina, Karolina Holub, Jasenka Zajec, Miroslav Milinovic, Nebojsa Topolscak (2008) Selective archiving of web resources: a study of processing costs. Program: Electronic Library and Information Systems, v.42, Issue 4. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from:
http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/mcb/280/2008/00000042/00000004/art00001
Rauber, A & Masanes, J (2008) 'Report on the 8th International Workshop on Web Archiving - IWAW 2008' D-Lib Magazine (14) 11/12 November/December 2008. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from: from:
http://www.dlib.org/dlib/november08/rauber/11rauber.html
2.6 Digital preservation life cycle
Preservation metadata
A DPE briefing paper will help those in public institutions trying to implement preservation metadata practices. The paper outlines how metadata can address key aspects of preservation management. It also describes some relevant metadata standards and metadata in the context of the semantic web. The Metadata Working Group has released new metadata guidelines for images, with a view to creating more consistent metadata interoperability. One of the goals of the group is to design digital image preservation metadata.
Cunningham, A (2008) The Uses of Metadata in Public Administration. A DPE Briefing paper. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from:
http://www.digitalpreservationeurope.eu/publications/briefs/uses_of_metadata_in_public_administration.pdf
Metadata Working Group (2008) Guidelines for Handling Image Metadata. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from:
http://www.metadataworkinggroup.com/pdf/mwg_guidance.pdf
Appraisal and public institutions
Two DPE papers examine appraisal as a key part of the digital preservation process. One paper looks at public authorities and how they are accountable for security, as well as highlighting what factors affect appraisal. The second, about resources in the public sector, gives a clear overview about the subject and contains a number of relevant links and resources about appraisal.
Comini, L., Mazzu', M. & Scalvini, S (2008) Security aspects in electronic personal health record: data access and preservation. A DPE Briefing paper. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from:
http://www.digitalpreservationeurope.eu/publications/briefs/security_aspects.pdf
Guercio, M (2008) Appraisal of Digital Resources in the Public Sector: A general introduction from a Delos Report. A DPE Briefing paper. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from:
http://www.digitalpreservationeurope.eu/publications/briefs/Appraisal-of-Digital-ResourcesEN.pdf
Migration of data
The exchange of Archival Information Packages is the subject of a D-Lib article. It focuses on repository to repository data transfer, the benefits of geographically distributed archives, and describes a newly funded project, TIPR (Towards Interoperable Preservation Repositories), a two year demonstration project which tests a common profile for exchange among existing repositories. The project will investigate what information a repository must receive when ingesting an object and the mechanisms needed for understanding and reading it. There is no website for the project as yet, but more information can be found via the FCLA blog. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from:
http://blogs.fcla.edu/index.php/digitalarchive/2008/09/11/news_from_the_fda_september_11_2008
Migration as a preservation strategy is examined in a recent paper in the International Journal of Digital Curation. Emulation was also looked at in this test project to migrate a large amount of heterogenous public documents. Many challenges were encountered and this paper remarks on the suitability of migration as a strategy.
Caplan, P (2008) 'Repository to Repository Transfer of Enriched Archival Information Packages' D-Lib Magazine (14) 11/12 November/December 2008. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from:
from: http://www.dlib.org/dlib/november08/caplan/11caplan.html
Woods, K., & Brown, G (2008) 'Migration Performance for Legacy Data Access' International Journal of Digital Curation, Vol 3, No 2 2008. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from: http://www.ijdc.net/index.php/ijdc/article/view/88
Interoperability
A briefing paper by DPE explains interoperability, with special reference to digital library interoperability, and looks at some conceptual frameworks and stresses that preservation can be defined as the interoperability of a digital object over a certain timescale.
Graddmann, S (2008) Interoperabilty: A key concept for large scale, persistent digital libraries. A DPE Briefing paper. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from:
http://www.digitalpreservationeurope.eu/publications/briefs/interoperability.pdf
2.7 Function specific
Email archiving
JISC have produced a briefing paper on outsourcing email services. It examines elements of outsourcing and the issues to consider for email storage. The brief could be of reference to those examining email preservation options. The paper is at the JISC website and there is an option to download a short or a long version.
Otlet, R., Tinson, P., Bailey, S., Cormack, A., & Clay, J (2008) Outsourcing Email and Data Storage: implications and opportunities. JISC Briefing paper. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from:
http://www.jisc.ac.uk/publications/publications/bpoutsourcingv1.aspx
Multimedia
A paper in the International Journal of Digital Curation focuses on the preservation of computer games. It stresses what a fragile medium computer games are, and gives a quantitative analysis of the state of computer game preservation, focusing on the UK. Conclusions include the importance of metadata creation needed to overcome some of the challenges. The second paper looks at the increased production of interoperable media, and how their delivery through a range of mediums has an impact on digital preservation. DPE has put together a briefing paper exploring the concepts of this increasingly complex content, as well as looking at the role of the user within the lifecycle.
Gooding, P., & Terras, M (2008) "'Grand Theft Archive': A Quantitative Analysis of the State of Computer Game Preservation" International Journal of Digital Curation, Vol 3, No 2 2008. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from:
http://www.ijdc.net/index.php/ijdc/article/view/85
Nesi, P (2008) Media Content for Multichannel. A DPE Briefing paper. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from:
http://www.digitalpreservationeurope.eu/publications/briefs/media_content.pdf
e-Journals
Two articles highlight the role that Portico plays in the preservation community. An article in Learned Publishing looks at the activities involved in the digital preservation process and goes onto describe the role that Portico plays in long term preservation solutions. In her article, Eileen Fenton looks at how digital preservation requires multiple methodologies and community-based action. N.B. Both articles are available to online journal subscription holders only.
Kirchhoff, A (2008) 'Digital preservation: challenges and implementation. Learned Publishing, V.21, No. 4 October 2008. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from:
http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/alpsp/lp/2008/00000021/00000004/art00005
Fenton, E (2008) 'Responding to the digital preservation Challenge: Portico, an Electronic Archiving Service' Journal of Library Administration, v.48, Issue 1. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from:
https://www.haworthpress.com/store/ArticleAbstract.asp?sid=G4LST23038H48HBF1XWR2SVQFXR3CXUD&ID=113181
Database preservation
Archiving databases in the long term is a big challenge, given the nature of increasingly vast and complicated data structures. A DPE paper details the Swiss Federal Archives' model which is XML-based, and aims to capture data sets, metadata, and the database relationships.
Bernstein, A (2008) Database Preservation: The international Challenge and the Swiss Solution A DPE Briefing paper. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from:
http://www.digitalpreservationeurope.eu/publications/briefs/database_preservation.pdf
Open Source
First Monday devotes some of its October issue to the use of open source software. One article focuses on the decision of a large public organisation not to adopt OpenOffice and it outlines the reasons why they chose a proprietary system instead.
Huysmans, P., Ven, K., & Verelst, J. "Reasons for the non-adoption of OpenOffice.org in a data-intensive public administration" First Monday, Volume 13 Number 10. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from:
http://firstmonday.org/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/2238
2.8 Tools and standards
DRIVER, a European project, has released DRIVER Guidelines 2.0 which set out guidelines to homogenise repository output. One of the aims of the project is to achieve interoperability between repositories by providing a common standard of communication as data is exchanged between them. The guidelines can be found via the DRIVER website.
DRIVER Guidelines 2.0 (2008) Guidelines for content providers - Exposing textual resources with OAI-PMH Retrieved 10 January 2009 from:
http://www.driver-support.eu/documents/DRIVER_Guidelines_v2_Final_2008-11-13.pdf
DRIVER has also initiated a Mentor Service aimed at managers of repositories. A tutorial about the service is downloadable from the DRIVER project website. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from: http://www.driver-support.eu/mentor.html
OAI-ORE is another tool to play a role in interoperability between repositories. A recent Ariadne paper explains how the tool is being used in the Preserv2 project, by assisting dissemination of content, especially within a distributed environment.
Rumsey, S & O'Steen, B (2008) 'OAI-ORE, Preserv2 and Digital Preservation' Ariadne 57 November 2008. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from: from:
http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue57/rumsey-osteen/
The role and development of DRAMBORA is highlighted in an article in the International Journal of Digital Curation. It makes clear that the self-assessment tool must also include the role of audit facilitator, and that the whole process will become more clearly defined as more users decide to self-audit their repositories.
McHugh, A., Ross, S., Innocenti, P., Ruusalepp, R., Hofman, H (2008) 'Bringing Self-assessment Home: Repository Profiling and Key Lines of Enquiry within DRAMBORA' International Journal of Digital Curation, Vol 3, No 2 2008. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from:
http://www.ijdc.net/index.php/ijdc/article/view/93
The JHOVE2 project has recently received funding to enhance this characterisation tool. An advisory board has been set up to represent a range of digital preservation stakeholder interests. The project is also undertaking a requirements gathering exercise. Input is welcomed from the wider community and more information, as well as the functional requirements, can be found via the project wiki. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from: http://confluence.ucop.edu/display/JHOVE2Info/Home
Plato 2 the second of the 3 planned versions of the PLANETS preservation planning tool which includes new and extended features was delivered in November 2008.
Planets (2008) Planets Preservation Planning Tool: Plato 2.0 User Manual. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from:
http://www.planets-project.eu/docs/reports/Planets_PP4-D4_PlanetsPlanningTool.pdf
ISOIEC 29500:2008 is a standard set up to ensure that word documents are compatible over time, especially as versions become incompatible with each other.
ISOIEC 29500:2008 (2008) Information technology - Document description and processing languages - Office Open XML File Formats - Part 1: Fundamentals and Markup Language Reference. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from:
http://www.iso.org/iso/pressrelease.htm?refid=Ref1181
3. Other publications
A new draft textbook by Robert B. Allen devoted to information science is open for comment and alterations. It contains a chapter on data curation, referring to numeric data and data sets, data mining, data grid, and trusted repositories. There is a section devoted to access and digital preservation, with special reference to libraries and digital preservation largely within the context of archives and scholarly institutions. It also lists some current preservation solutions. These sections on curation and digital preservation are still in fairly rough draft form. Individual chapters as well as full text can be found at the Drexel website.
The Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers have released a report resulting from a survey of its members, which aimed at establishing existing digital preservation awareness and strategies among publishers and their library customers. The key findings highlight that while 90% of its members recognised that digital preservation was an urgent problem, especially with regard to rights and responsibilities of digital data, few organisations had confidence in their own preservation practices. The issue of responsibility for preservation was also a clear theme in the study. The latest edition of the Digital Document Quarterly includes observations of the state of digital preservation in major institutions as well as a range of useful pointers and resources.
Allen, R (2008) Information a Fundamental Construct - Draft Manuscript. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from:
http://www.ischool.drexel.edu/faculty/ballen/ISS/
Durrant, S (2008) Long-term Preservation; Results from a survey investigating preservation strategies amongst ALPSP publisher members. Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers Retrieved 10 January 2009 from:
http://www.alpsp.org/ngen_public/article.asp?id=200&did=47&aid=27137&st=&oaid=-1
Gladney, H. (2008). Digital Document Quarterly, Volume 7, Number 4, 4Q2008. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from:
http://home.pacbell.net/hgladney/ddq_7_4.htm
4. Events
4.1 Recent events
2008
September
Embedding Web Preservation Strategies Within Your Institution. JISC-PoWR workshop. 12 September 2008. Manchester UK
Resources now available from the JISC-PoWR blog. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from:
http://jiscpowr.jiscinvolve.org/workshops/workshop-3/
IWAW 2008: 8th International Web Archiving Workshop
18 - 19 Sep 2008, Aarhus Denmark (Denmark).
Accepted papers now available from the conference website. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from: http://www.iwaw.net/08/
October
DPE/Planets/CASPAR/ Third Annual Conference: Costs, Benefits and Motivations for digital preservation. 28-30 October 2008. Nice, France.
Presentations are now available from the WePreserve conference website. Photographs of the event are also available online. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from:
http://picasaweb.google.com/digitalpreservationeurope/WePreserveConference#5272896164157177698
Retrieved 10 January 2009 from:
http://www.wepreserve.eu/events/nice-2008/programme/
November
DCC/Edinburgh e-Science Collaborative Workshop. 13 November 2008, Sheffield, UK.
Presentations are now online at the White Rose Grid e-Science Centre. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from:
http://www.wrgrid.org.uk/workshop_withDCC_2008_slides.html
Alliance for Permanent Access. Keeping the Records of Science Accessible: Can We Afford it? 4 November 2008. Budapest.
Presentations can be viewed via the Alliance’s website. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from:
http://www.alliancepermanentaccess.eu/index.php?id=3
DCC/RIN Data Managament Forum, 26-27 November 2008, Manchester, UK.
Presentations are available on the DCC website. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from:
http://www.dcc.ac.uk/events/data-forum-2008-november/
December
4th International Digital Curation Conference. 1-3 December 2008. Edinburgh, Scotland.
Presentations available from the DCC website. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from:
http://www.dcc.ac.uk/events/dcc-2008/programme/
DPC/RSP/DCC/JISC Workshop. Tackling the Preservation Challenge:
Practical Steps for Repository Managers. 12th December 2008, London, UK.
Presentations are online at the DPC website. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from:
http://www.dpconline.org/graphics/events/081212RepMngrsWkshp.html
4.2 Current and Forthcoming events
2009
February
International Perspectives on Digital Preservation Forum. 2 February 2009. National Library of New Zealand, Wellington, New Zealand. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from:
http://ndha-wiki.natlib.govt.nz/ndha/pages/InternationalPerspectives
'A National Research Data Service for the UK?' Conference. 26 February 2009. The Royal Society, London, UK. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from: http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/events/ukrds-2009/
Digital Futures: from digitisation to delivery. 2-6 February 2009. Sydney, Australia. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from:
http://www.digitalconsultancy.net/digifutures/
Records Management Conference: Stop the Data Rot! Embedding Robust Information Governance. 25 February 2009. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from:
http://www.unicom.co.uk/product_detail.asp?prdid=1605
March
JISC Conference 2009. 24 March 2009. Edinburgh, UK. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from: http://www.jisc.ac.uk/jiscconference09
April
DigCCurr 2009: Digital Curation Practice, Promise and Prospects. April 1-3 2009. Chapel Hill, NC, USA. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from: http://www.ils.unc.edu/digccurr2009/
May
African Digital Scholarship and Curation 2009. 12-14 May 2009. Pretoria, South Africa. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from:
http://www.library.up.ac.za/digitalscholarship.htm#admin
'Archiving 2009' IS&T Archiving 4 -7 May 2009, Arlington, VA, USA. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from:
http://www.imaging.org/conferences/archiving2009/
June
Joint Conference on Digital Libraries (JCDL) 2009. 15-19 June 2009. Austin, Texas, USA. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from:
http://www.jcdl2009.org/
July
The Future of Today's Scholarship: A Symposium in Honor of Bob Oakley. July 25 2009. Georgetown Law Library, Washington DC, USA. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from:
http://www.ll.georgetown.edu/ftls/.
August
World Library and Information Congress: 75th IFLA General Conference and Council: Libraries Create Futures: Building on Cultural Heritage. 23-27 August 2009. Milan, Italy. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from: http://www.ifla.org/IV/ifla75/index.htm
September
European Conference on Digital Libraries (ECDL) 2009. 27 September - 2 October 2009. Corfu, Greece. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from: http://www.ecdl2009.eu
4.3 Training Events
February
Digital Preservation Training Programme (DPTP) 23-25 February 2009. ULCC, London, UK. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from:
http://www.ulcc.ac.uk/dptp/
Repositories Support Project Winter School 2009. 25-27 February 2009. New Lanark, Scotland. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from:
http://www.rsp.ac.uk/events/booking.php?event=WinterSchool2009
March
DCC Digital Curation 101 Workshop. 10-12 March 2009. London, UK.Retrieved 10 January 2009 from: http://www.dcc.ac.uk/events/digital-curation-101-2009/
August
European Summer School in Information Retrieval (ESSIR) 2009. 31 August - 4 September 2009. University of Padua, Italy. Retrieved 10 January 2009 from: http://essir2009.dei.unipd.it/
Last updated: 19 October 2009
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