Digital materials are listed Endangered when they face material technical challenges to preservation or responsibility for care is poorly understood, or where the responsible agencies are poorly equipped to meet preservation needs. This classification includes Vulnerable materials in the presence of aggravating conditions.

In alphabetical order, Digital Species found to be Endangered are:

  

Born Digital Photos and Video Shared on Social Media or Uploaded to Cloud Services

Digital images or video with no analogue equivalent and where the only copy is online with a social media platform or cloud image hosting service.

Action:

Assessment is Most Urgent

(Action in 12 months in presence of aggravating conditions)

Assessment Completed:

November 2017                 

Examples:

Flickr

Vimeo

YouTube

Instagram

Periscope

DropBox

Facebook?

Aggravating conditions:

lack of preservation capacity in provider;

lack of explicit preservation commitment or incentive from provider to preserve;

lack of storage replication by provider

dependence on proprietary products or formats;

poor management of data protection;

inaccessibility to web archiving services;

political or commercial interference;

lack of offline equivalent;

over-abundance;

poorly managed intellectual property rights

lossy compression applied in upload scripts

Endangered small

 

Critically Endangered in the presence of Aggravating Conditions.

Vulnerable where good practice can be demonstrated.

 

Corporate Records of Long Duration held on Network Drives, Intranets and Document Systems

Records on internal corporate network drives, intranets or document management services where access is limited to a distinct group of users, and in which the lifecycle of the record or the business processes they support is greater than the technology on which they are created or retained.

Action:

Assessment is Most Urgent

(Action in 12 months in presence of aggravating conditions)

Assessment Completed:

November 2017                 

Examples:

Born digital records of small and medium sized enterprises;

fasting-changing internal manuals, advice or policies shared on intranets or EDRMS;

records of long-lived products and services;

Historic guidelines and manual which evidence 'best practice';

Documentation supporting long-lived contractual relations;

Online terms and conditions;

Corporate Slack channels;

Google Drives;

EDRMS;

Email;

Aggravating conditions:

lack of systematic preservation function;

lack of preservation path or plan for data;

dependence on proprietary products or formats;

poor management of data protection;

political or commercial interference;

lack of offline equivalent;

over-abundance through poor disposal or version control;

lack of capacity;

lack of commitment;

dependency on proprietary formats

loss or lack of documentation;

sector specific software or data types;

Endangered small

Critically Endangered in the presence of Aggravating Conditions.

Vulnerable where good practice can be demonstrated.

 

Digital Legal Records and Evidence

Digital records gathered or created in the course of criminal or civil investigations or presented as evidence in court proceedings.  The data may be generated though legal processes, such as legal rulings or proceedings; or may be generated externally by public authorities or members of the public. Any digital object which could be presented in court as evidence.

Action:

Assessment is Most Urgent

(Action in 12 months in presence of aggravating conditions)

Assessment Completed:

November 2017                 

Examples:

CCTV;

Email;

Public Enquiry Evidence;

Online Terms and Conditions;

Police records;

Court records;

Text messages.

Aggravating conditions:

risk of falsification;

fragile or obsolete media;

dependence on proprietary formats or products;

lack or loss of documentation;

inaccessible to web harvesting technologies;

lack of version control;

lack of integrity checks or integrity records;

poor chain of custody

Endangered small

Critically Endangered in the presence of Aggravating Conditions.

Vulnerable where good practice can be demonstrated.

 

Digital Music Production and Sharing

Digital music, especially components used in the production or informal sharing of digital music. 

Action:

Assessment is Most Urgent

(Action in 12 months in presence of aggravating conditions)

Assessment Completed:

November 2017                 

Examples:

Digital Music Scores;

MaxMSP Patches;

Community-based music sharing and tracking;

Fan and community fora;

Pre-production notes;

Demo recordings;

Soundcloud;

Aggravating conditions:

fragile or obsolete media for offline content;

service provider preservation capability for online content;

dependence on proprietary formats or products;

lack or loss of documentation;

Uncertainty over intellectual property rights;

lack of version control;

lack of policy or mandate,

Endangered small

Critically Endangered in the presence of Aggravating Conditions.

Vulnerable where good practice can be demonstrated.

 

Digital Radio Recordings

Master recordings of radio broadcasts generated live but often poorly stored thereafter.

Action:

Assessment is Most Urgent

(Action in 12 months in presence of Aggravating Conditions)

Assessment Completed:

November 2017           

Examples:

Offline recordings on single LTO (Linear Tape Open) Tapes

Aggravating conditions:

lack of archival mandate;

lack of capability of archive;

lack of policy or capacity within broadcaster;

small or unprofitable broadcaster;

concern over intellectual property rights; overzealous rights management protection;

device or software dependence;

dependence on proprietary or obsolete formats;

lack or loss of documentation

little use or inaccessibility;

storage (typically tapes) older than warranty;

lack of media refreshment plan;

lack of error or integrity checking process;

single copies;

Endangered small

Critically Endangered in the presence of Aggravating Conditions.

Vulnerable where good practice can be demonstrated.

 

Orphaned Digital Works: digital materials where copyright cannot be traced

Materials where copyright is uncertain, disputed or unknowable meaning that preservation actions are constrained or prevented

Action:

Assessment is Most Urgent

(Action in 12 months in presence of Aggravating Conditions)

Assessment Completed:

November 2017           

Examples:

Part Two of the BBC Domesday Book;

Websites outside of legal deposit mandate where the copyright owner cannot be traced;

Aggravating conditions:

rights management software and encryption;

lack of enabling preservation regime;

lack of ownership;

lack of preservation path or plan for data;

dependence on proprietary products or formats;

poor management of data protection;

political or commercial interference;

lack of capacity or commitment;

dependency on proprietary or obsolete formats; dependency on proprietary or obsolete process;

loss or lack of documentation;

uncertainty over contents;

encryption;

Endangered small

Critically Endangered in the presence of Aggravating Conditions.

Vulnerable where good practice can be demonstrated.

 

Published Research Outputs

Published outputs created by researchers to present and disseminate their findings electronically, especially through established platforms like journals, theses and monographs.

Action:

Assessment is Most Urgent

(Action in 12 months in presence of Aggravating Conditions)

Assessment Completed:

November 2017     

Examples:

EBooks

Electronic Journals

E-theses

Electronic Monographs

Aggravating conditions:

lack of identified 'keeper' for material falling outside of collecting mandates;

lack of capability of designated 'keeper';

lack of policy or capacity within research libraries;

lack of disciplinary repository;

lack of understanding within discipline;

small or unprofitable publishers;

concern over intellectual property rights; overzealous rights management protection;

device or software dependence;

dependence on proprietary or obsolete formats;

lack or loss of documentation;

little use or inaccessibility;

political or corporate interference;

inaccessible to web harvesting technologies;

Endangered small

Critically Endangered in the presence of Aggravating Conditions.

Vulnerable where good practice can be demonstrated.

 

Records of Long Duration from Local Government or Other Government Agencies

Born digital records of local and small or medium-sized public authorities, held on internal network drives, intranets or document management services where access is limited to a distinct group of users, and in which the lifecycle of the record or the business processes they support is greater than the technology on which they are created or retained.

Action:

Assessment is Most Urgent

(Action in 12 months in presence of aggravating conditions)

Assessment Completed:

November 2017                 

Examples:

Born digital records of small and medium-sized agencies;

fasting-changing internal manuals, advice or policies shared on intranets or EDRMS;

records of care services,

historic guidelines and manuals which evidence 'best practice at the time';

Documentation supporting long-lived contractual relations like Public Finance Initiatives;

Organisational Slack channels;

Google Drives;

EDRMS;

Email.

Aggravating conditions:

lack of capacity in preservation function;

shallow political commitment;

perception of ‘back-office’ function;

lack of preservation path or plan for data;

dependence on proprietary products or formats;

poor management of data protection;

political or commercial interference;

lack of offline equivalent;

over-abundance through poor disposal;

lack of commitment from senior management;

dependency on proprietary formats;

loss or lack of documentation;

lack of sensitivity-control;

Endangered small

Critically Endangered in the presence of Aggravating Conditions.

Vulnerable where good practice can be demonstrated.


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