VidArch Preserving Video Objects and Context: A Demonstration Project Helen R. Tibbo School of Information and Library Science University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

IS&T Archiving Conference 2006 Ottawa, Canada, May 26, Funding for this Project This work was supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation #IIS DigArch Program

IS&T Archiving Conference 2006 Ottawa, Canada, May 26, VidArch Team Gary Marchionini Gary Marchionini Helen Tibbo Helen Tibbo Christopher Lee Christopher Lee Paul Jones Paul Jones Special Thanks to SILS Students: Dawne Howard Dawne Howard Terrell Russell Terrell Russell Sanghee Oh Sanghee Oh Yaxiao Song Yaxiao Song

IS&T Archiving Conference 2006 Ottawa, Canada, May 26, VidArch Partners National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Association of Computing Machinery (ACM) Association of Computing Machinery (ACM) Open Video (OV) Open Video (OV) ibiblio ibiblio

IS&T Archiving Conference 2006 Ottawa, Canada, May 26, Challenges of Video Preservation Temporal medium with multiple information representation channels; Temporal medium with multiple information representation channels; Multiple visual and audio Multiple visual and audio Human-readable or machine-readable content Human-readable or machine-readable content Video object’s meaning is greater than the sum of its parts; Video object’s meaning is greater than the sum of its parts; Preservation must attend to the whole as well as the parts. Preservation must attend to the whole as well as the parts.

IS&T Archiving Conference 2006 Ottawa, Canada, May 26, Preservation & Access Are integrally intertwined; Are integrally intertwined; Accessibility and use promote longevity (Conway); Accessibility and use promote longevity (Conway); “Mechanisms to ensure long-term persistence should operate harmoniously with mechanisms supporting dissemination and use. (Lavoie & Dempsey) “Mechanisms to ensure long-term persistence should operate harmoniously with mechanisms supporting dissemination and use. (Lavoie & Dempsey)

IS&T Archiving Conference 2006 Ottawa, Canada, May 26, Goals of Project Make videos not only accessible, but also understandable in the future; Make videos not only accessible, but also understandable in the future; Develop a preservation framework for digital video context that includes preservation of persistent context; Develop a preservation framework for digital video context that includes preservation of persistent context; Develop a workflow model that focuses on the capture of contextual information; Develop a workflow model that focuses on the capture of contextual information; Explore the design and feasibility of a video or multimedia-enhanced finding aid; Explore the design and feasibility of a video or multimedia-enhanced finding aid; Develop decision support tools for the acquisition, ingest, and preservation of context. Develop decision support tools for the acquisition, ingest, and preservation of context.

IS&T Archiving Conference 2006 Ottawa, Canada, May 26, Theoretical Foundation Builds from OAIS Reference Model; Builds from OAIS Reference Model; Blends conceptualizing power of archival finding aids with complexity and information- rich nature of video; Blends conceptualizing power of archival finding aids with complexity and information- rich nature of video; Based in the vision that long-term provision of contextualized access Based in the vision that long-term provision of contextualized access Makes digital objects understandable over time; Makes digital objects understandable over time; Is essential to long-term preservation; Is essential to long-term preservation; Is dependent on metadata. Is dependent on metadata.

IS&T Archiving Conference 2006 Ottawa, Canada, May 26, Metadata Several schemes and standards – METS, NLNZ, etc.; Several schemes and standards – METS, NLNZ, etc.; Preservation metadata – PREMIS; Preservation metadata – PREMIS; What is needed for long-term access and understandability? What is needed for long-term access and understandability? Object-specific annotations; Object-specific annotations; Collection-level descriptions and integration/ links among objects; Collection-level descriptions and integration/ links among objects; State of the world information. State of the world information.

IS&T Archiving Conference 2006 Ottawa, Canada, May 26, Context… Can make materials useful and comprehendible across time and space; Can make materials useful and comprehendible across time and space; Is a hallmark of a well-written finding aid; Is a hallmark of a well-written finding aid; Is often expensive to capture. Is often expensive to capture.

IS&T Archiving Conference 2006 Ottawa, Canada, May 26, Open Video Housed within SILS; Housed within SILS; Collects and makes available digitized video content for a wide audience; Collects and makes available digitized video content for a wide audience; Significantly, Open Video began as a project to provide researchers with access to video to facilitate the study of video problems; Significantly, Open Video began as a project to provide researchers with access to video to facilitate the study of video problems; It now finds itself a repository with preservation as well as access needs. It now finds itself a repository with preservation as well as access needs.

IS&T Archiving Conference 2006 Ottawa, Canada, May 26,

IS&T Archiving Conference 2006 Ottawa, Canada, May 26, NASA Collection 2003, partnered with NASA Langley’s Center for Distance Learning; 2003, partnered with NASA Langley’s Center for Distance Learning; OV provides digital video file version of four educational programs; OV provides digital video file version of four educational programs; Video comes from NASA and passes through the OV workflow. Video comes from NASA and passes through the OV workflow.

IS&T Archiving Conference 2006 Ottawa, Canada, May 26, NASA Collection on OV

IS&T Archiving Conference 2006 Ottawa, Canada, May 26, NASA’s Own Video Site

IS&T Archiving Conference 2006 Ottawa, Canada, May 26, ACM Collection Videos presented at research conference sponsored by the Association of Computing Machinery; Videos presented at research conference sponsored by the Association of Computing Machinery; SIGCHI has accepted juried videos since 1983; SIGCHI has accepted juried videos since 1983; 427 videos in OV’s ACM collection; 427 videos in OV’s ACM collection; Videos of widely varying quality with a range of metadata. Videos of widely varying quality with a range of metadata.

IS&T Archiving Conference 2006 Ottawa, Canada, May 26, VidArch Methodology Explore Open Video workflow; Explore Open Video workflow; Identify sources of context from OV workflow process; Identify sources of context from OV workflow process; Build framework to articulate sources of context in OAIS model and OV workflow; Build framework to articulate sources of context in OAIS model and OV workflow; Create media-enhanced finding aids that capture context. Create media-enhanced finding aids that capture context.

IS&T Archiving Conference 2006 Ottawa, Canada, May 26, Finding Aids Traditional tools of archivists but have not often been exploited in digital library settings; Traditional tools of archivists but have not often been exploited in digital library settings; FAs provide context for access and understandability over time; FAs provide context for access and understandability over time; FAs can contain several levels of hierarchy: FAs can contain several levels of hierarchy: the entire collection; the entire collection; series and subseries; and series and subseries; and listing of individual materials. listing of individual materials.

IS&T Archiving Conference 2006 Ottawa, Canada, May 26, EAD Finding Aids Encoded Archival Description FAs designed to be highly accessible and interoperable; Encoded Archival Description FAs designed to be highly accessible and interoperable; EAD FAs can take advantage of multiple media, hyperlinks, and interactive behaviors. EAD FAs can take advantage of multiple media, hyperlinks, and interactive behaviors.

IS&T Archiving Conference 2006 Ottawa, Canada, May 26, Finding Aids & Context Traditionally, context in finding aids relates to the entities involved in the creation of the records Traditionally, context in finding aids relates to the entities involved in the creation of the records individuals, individuals, organizations and functions, and organizations and functions, and the nature of the records themselves. the nature of the records themselves. FAs involve substantial intellectual work and professional judgment on the part of archivists. FAs involve substantial intellectual work and professional judgment on the part of archivists.

IS&T Archiving Conference 2006 Ottawa, Canada, May 26, VidArch View of Finding Aids FAs should be considered not just access devices but also digital objects; FAs should be considered not just access devices but also digital objects; FAs should be ingested into the OAIS and preserved along with the target videos; FAs should be ingested into the OAIS and preserved along with the target videos; Identifying a typology of elements (related actors, events, objects, locations, times), to be documented within video collections; Identifying a typology of elements (related actors, events, objects, locations, times), to be documented within video collections; Finding aids can be enriched with links to media objects. Finding aids can be enriched with links to media objects.

IS&T Archiving Conference 2006 Ottawa, Canada, May 26, NASA Collection Finding Aid

IS&T Archiving Conference 2006 Ottawa, Canada, May 26, Digital Archiving & OAIS Model OAIS indicates the importance of contextual information but does not describe how to specify it. OAIS indicates the importance of contextual information but does not describe how to specify it. We seek to develop a further articulation of how context can best be preserved within the OAIS framework. We seek to develop a further articulation of how context can best be preserved within the OAIS framework.

IS&T Archiving Conference 2006 Ottawa, Canada, May 26, Life Cycle of Digital Videos from NASA in Open Video

IS&T Archiving Conference 2006 Ottawa, Canada, May 26, Workflow and Sources of Context The solid arrows in the figure show current information flows; The solid arrows in the figure show current information flows; Dashed arrows indicate potential for capturing further contextual information; Dashed arrows indicate potential for capturing further contextual information; 1 st Stage: Functional provenance within NASA; 1 st Stage: Functional provenance within NASA; 2nd Stage: Video production activities NASA; 2nd Stage: Video production activities NASA; 3 rd Stage: Distribution of the video. 3 rd Stage: Distribution of the video.

IS&T Archiving Conference 2006 Ottawa, Canada, May 26, OAIS, SIPS, & AIPS An OAIS differs from other types of information systems in that it accepts “responsibility to preserve information and make it available for a Designated Community” over the “long-term.” An OAIS differs from other types of information systems in that it accepts “responsibility to preserve information and make it available for a Designated Community” over the “long-term.” This responsibility is only assured for information that has been submitted to the OAIS as an SIP and then ingested in order to become an AIP. This responsibility is only assured for information that has been submitted to the OAIS as an SIP and then ingested in order to become an AIP.

IS&T Archiving Conference 2006 Ottawa, Canada, May 26, Curator’s OAIS Responsibilities Curators of digital video collections must decide what subset of the total potential documentation (existing or created by the curator) related to the digital videos should be Curators of digital video collections must decide what subset of the total potential documentation (existing or created by the curator) related to the digital videos should be reflected in the descriptive and access tools of the archive and reflected in the descriptive and access tools of the archive and submitted to the archive as SIPs in order to be ingested for long-term preservation. submitted to the archive as SIPs in order to be ingested for long-term preservation.

IS&T Archiving Conference 2006 Ottawa, Canada, May 26, Thank You! Slides from this presentation will be found at: