Use It or Lose It! Preserving Your Digital Documents Rob Spindler, University Archivist Arizona State University Libraries ECURE 2004 11/10/2018 rob.spindler@asu.edu

Eight Challenges of Electronic Document Preservation A review of fundamental issues Applies to desktop and enterprise level All eight items must be addressed for success 11/10/2018 rob.spindler@asu.edu

Eight Challenges – Storage Media 1. Physical Degradation of Storage Media CD’s last 30-100 years, BUT Temperature/Humidity Pollutants  Improper Handling Scratches, bent Label adhesives/Inks 11/10/2018 rob.spindler@asu.edu

Eight Challenges – Storage Media 2. Physical Obsolescence of Storage Media 5.25” floppy discs  Obsolete backup tape cartridges Obsolete optical discs/cartridges 11/10/2018 rob.spindler@asu.edu

Eight Challenges – Storage Media 3. Obsolescence of Media Recording or Playback Devices Data storage efficiency increases 10X-50X every 10 years Recording device production life about 10 years. Mfg. product support 5-7 yrs. after production termination 11/10/2018 rob.spindler@asu.edu

Eight Challenges – Storage Media Four Types of Recordable DVD: DVD-R DVD-RW (Pioneer device) DVD-RAM – Type 1 & 2 (IBM, Gateway) DVD+R / DVD+RW (Hewlett-Packard, Dell) 11/10/2018 rob.spindler@asu.edu

Eight Challenges – Software 4. Migration Failure Three kinds of migration: Migration to new release of same software. Migration to new software Migration to software independent format (e.g. ASCII Text) 11/10/2018 rob.spindler@asu.edu

Eight Challenges – Software 4. Migration Failure (Software, Operating System or Encoding Incompatibility) New software release won’t run file from old release. New software release opens old file but contents are corrupted. 11/10/2018 rob.spindler@asu.edu

Eight Challenges – Software Incompatibility, continued: Software is not compatible with operating system. Display with one internet browser doesn’t look the same in a different browser. 11/10/2018 rob.spindler@asu.edu

Eight Challenges – Software Incompatibility, continued: Proprietary codes from HTML editing packages do not convert to new HTML applications. Browser does not support encoding standard used (XML). 11/10/2018 rob.spindler@asu.edu

Eight Challenges – Human Factors 5. Human Error / Vandalism Accidental or malicious deletion.   Website is vandalized. Virus protection failure 11/10/2018 rob.spindler@asu.edu

Eight Challenges – Backups 6. Backups and Snapshots    Backups lost or overwritten. Wrong files backed up. Incomplete snapshot: Video server backed up, web server not. 11/10/2018 rob.spindler@asu.edu

Eight Challenges – Metadata  7. Lost or Absent Metadata Data about Data Two Types: Administrative Descriptive 11/10/2018 rob.spindler@asu.edu

Eight Challenges – Metadata  Administrative Metadata: Hardware and Software Requirements Maintenance & Migration History Version Control Data Dictionaries 11/10/2018 rob.spindler@asu.edu

Eight Challenges – Metadata  Descriptive Metadata: Media Labels File Lists Electronic Descriptions: File folder titles Filenames File Header – Dublin Core 11/10/2018 rob.spindler@asu.edu

Eight Challenges – Metadata  8. Linkage/Addressing Failure: URL in document changes Linkage between description and digital object fails 11/10/2018 rob.spindler@asu.edu

What to Do? Recommendations…   1) Actively manage your files! 2) Select Carefully! 3) Refresh and/or migrate to new storage media on a regular schedule 4) Consider redundant and/or offline storage 11/10/2018 rob.spindler@asu.edu

What to Do? Recommendations…  5) If you can, use standards: ASCII text Unicode (supports foreign languages) For HTML web documents, use W3c standards and verification service For encoded text: TEI, XML 11/10/2018 rob.spindler@asu.edu

What to Do? Recommendations…  6) If you must, select robust software: Use widely adopted software with “large installed base” Look for proven export capabilities Ask about backwards compatibility 11/10/2018 rob.spindler@asu.edu

What to Do? Recommendations…  7) Plan for migration and emulation: Migrate legacy and active content: to new release of same software to compatible different software Test migrations w/sample data Retain obsolete software and files 11/10/2018 rob.spindler@asu.edu

What to Do? Recommendations…  8) Address Human Factors: Provide adequate training Conduct audits and quality control checks Create, maintain and document procedures Maintain secure systems and virus protection. 11/10/2018 rob.spindler@asu.edu

What to Do? Recommendations…  9) Create and Maintain Metadata: Label your storage media Create descriptive filenames and file folder titles Make Data Dictionaries – consider paper or offline Use Dublin Core for Webstuff 11/10/2018 rob.spindler@asu.edu