The effective preservation of archaeological virtual reconstructions
Many different professional communities are currently working on the preservation of complex digital objects, but there is not a unified structure drawing together all the numerous threads around preserving archaeological virtual reconstructions. This PhD programme showed that archaeological virtual reconstructions are a blend of artistic and scientific creativity. These ‘hybrid digital objects’ require delicate care to be preserved effectively in the long term. Thus, when considering a virtual reconstruction project, there are practical aspects that need to be tackled. In addressing these issues, this thesis presents a foundation (preservation framework) for how those various sectors fit together.
Enabling DNA as a digital preservation medium
DNA is the ultimate preservation medium, developed by nature to preserve the code of every organism on earth. Twist Bioscience is paving the way to harness the benefits of DNA for digital data storage and digital preservation. Through this initiative Twist Bioscience has been able to build a MB-scale working solution, that has been used in a few digital preservation projects (UNICEF, museums, artists, libraries) and are on their way to completing a GB-scale solution, followed by a TB-scale solution. The initiative is the most advanced in the digital preservation market and the only one offering DNA at a reasonable cost for preserving digital information.
Enriching, Empowering, and Future-proofing: The benefits of Linked (Open) Data for archives
Over the past decade, an increasing volume of archival data has been published as Linked Data(LD), however, the benefits that LD brings to the archives sector, and its role in ensuring the future sustainability of digital assets, remain little understood. To address this gap, this study uses documentary analysis to construct a comprehensive and cohesive narrative of the benefits of LD for the archives sector. The study provides a timely and robust evidence-base of the benefits of LD and problematizes them to identify the barriers created by current practices which prevent the archives sector from fully experiencing these benefits.