a centre of expertise in data curation and preservation MIS Seminar :: University of Edinburgh :: 2 October 2006 Funded by: This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 UK: Scotland License. To view a copy of this license, visit sa/2.5/scotland/ ; or, (b) send a letter to Creative Commons, 543 Howard Street, 5th Floor, San Francisco, California, 94105, USA. sa/2.5/scotland/ Digital Curation A life-cycle approach to managing and preserving digital information Maureen Pennock Digital Curation Centre UKOLN, University of Bath

a centre of expertise in data curation and preservation MIS Seminar :: University of Edinburgh :: 2 October 2006 Overview Introduction to digital curation s Web Sites and web-based records Databases Suggestions Questions

a centre of expertise in data curation and preservation MIS Seminar :: University of Edinburgh :: 2 October 2006 Digital curation is… … maintaining and adding value to a trusted body of digital information for current and future use … the active management and appraisal of data over the life-cycle of digital materials … the key to reproducibility and re-use Digital curation enables us to regain control of distributed and shared digital assets

a centre of expertise in data curation and preservation MIS Seminar :: University of Edinburgh :: 2 October 2006 Why? Digital objects are at risk: Technology obsolescence Fragility of digital media Lack of good practice basics Enables us to manage objects and materials despite changes over time To technology To ownership In usage For accountability, memory & re-use

a centre of expertise in data curation and preservation MIS Seminar :: University of Edinburgh :: 2 October 2006 The life-cycle model Generic model Takes control over the records throughout lifetime Meaningful chain of custody Requires compatibility of different stages Note that preservation activities may be needed before archiving, depending on the retention period Records Disposal?

a centre of expertise in data curation and preservation MIS Seminar :: University of Edinburgh :: 2 October 2006 Many types of digital resources Digitised Invoices Contracts Letters Photographs Historic documents Audio-visual material Microfilm Born Digital Images E-Publications s Web Sites (which will invariably contain multi- media objects) Audio-visual material Databases

a centre of expertise in data curation and preservation MIS Seminar :: University of Edinburgh :: 2 October 2006 Curating s: Why? Inbox management s are records too Legal requirements Financial consequences Historically and culturally valuable Subject to technological obsolescence More complex than people think It’s not just about s

a centre of expertise in data curation and preservation MIS Seminar :: University of Edinburgh :: 2 October 2006 Curating s: Some issues User engagement Education and training Misconceptions concerning ‘ownership’ Deletion versus destruction Integrating management with organisational records management Consistency between IT and RM requirements Preservation What to do about attachments?

a centre of expertise in data curation and preservation MIS Seminar :: University of Edinburgh :: 2 October 2006 Curating Web Sites: Why? Web sites can contain uniquely available informative records and data Users may act or take decisions based on this information, with important consequences Records of business transactions Accountability & transparency To funding bodies To stakeholders For legal reasons Historical and culturally valuable

a centre of expertise in data curation and preservation MIS Seminar :: University of Edinburgh :: 2 October 2006 Curating Web Sites: Some issues Which do you want to curate: The Web Site? Records hosted on the Web Site? Not all web site content is a unique record Day-to-day creation & management Harvesting & collection Plethora of file formats Conversion into non-proprietary formats without breaking links

a centre of expertise in data curation and preservation MIS Seminar :: University of Edinburgh :: 2 October 2006 Curating Databases: Why? Key technology for storage, organisation, and interrogation of information Mission critical stores of information Administrative Research Valuable and dynamic records Linkage infrastructure for other records Accountability Maximise investment in data & creation

a centre of expertise in data curation and preservation MIS Seminar :: University of Edinburgh :: 2 October 2006 Curating Databases: Some issues Database provenance and annotation Preservation preserving past states of dynamic databases Which elements to preserve? Data citation Quality assurance Multiple users Linkage Relationship with Web Sites

a centre of expertise in data curation and preservation MIS Seminar :: University of Edinburgh :: 2 October 2006 Suggestions (1) Establish a policy & a strategy Create digital resources in a sustainable and comprehensible manner Provide training & education Fully document all aspects of a resource using metadata The provenance & authenticity of the data may need to be certifiable Life-cycle management

a centre of expertise in data curation and preservation MIS Seminar :: University of Edinburgh :: 2 October 2006 Suggestions (2) Implement tools to support curation efforts Select appropriate data and records for longer-term preservation Consider annotation to facilitate re-use of some resource types Plan preservation action to avoid the threat and risks of technological obsolescence Collaborate and communicate with comparable organisations

a centre of expertise in data curation and preservation MIS Seminar :: University of Edinburgh :: 2 October 2006 Thank You Questions? Maureen Pennock Join the DCC Associates Network at (it’s free!)