Digital Preservation: Store & Protect Laurie Sauer Information Technologies Librarian Knox College

IDENTIFY the types of digital content you have. SELECT what portion of your digital content will be preserved. STORE your selected content for the long term. PROTECT your content from everyday threats and emergency contingencies. MANAGE and implement requirements for long term management. PROVIDE access to digital content over time. Steps

Entrance to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault in Norway Digital objects may be stored, but are they being preserved?

Characteristics of well-managed and well- preserved collections: Multiple copies in at least 2 locations Common (or normalized) file formats Basic information about each deposit - Minimal metadata for objects (you define) Controlled and known storage of content Digital Preservation Outreach & Education Well-managed Collections

Number of Copies Digital Preservation Outreach & Education How many copies are enough for you? Minimum: 2 copies in two locations Optimum: 6 copies Storage factors: Video files are too large to store 6 copies Possible legal restrictions Types of media used for storing the content

Types of files Common or normalized file formats Uncompressed or lossless compression Non-proprietary formats

Common or Normalized File Formats Follow recommendations set by leading organizations NARA’s Technical Guidelines for Digitizing Archival Materials for Electronic Access – TIFF format is the “ ‘De facto’ raster image format used for master files.” Sustainability of Digital Formats Planning for Library of Congress Collections -- The MP3 sound file format is “Generally used for final-state, end-user delivery.” And, “General preference for preservation-oriented recorded sound is WAVE_LCPM. For compressed sound, MP3 is acceptable, especially at data rates of 128 Kb/s (mono) or 256 Kb/s (stereo) or higher.”

file + metadata digital object Maize seed samples, CIMMYT germplasm bank Digital Preservation Outreach & Education

Metadata: Data About Data How do you know what an object is? Metadata uniquely identifies digital objects How do you use content in the future? Metadata makes digital objects understandable How do you know an object is authentic? Preservation metadata allows objects to be traced over time Digital Preservation Outreach & Education

Metadata uniquely identifies digital objects From the Tropicos database, Missouri Botanic al Garden

Metadata makes digital objects understandable for the future Secale cereale L. Cereal rye

How do you know an object is authentic? Different hash means the file has changed Digital Preservation Outreach & Education One-Way Encryption b43efderwkl3jh7834 One-Way Encryption 845kjsnlkdrkjhndgiu5 Fixity checking allows you to know if a file has changed over time.

Exercise: Consider Metadata How do you know what an object is? Metadata uniquely identifies digital objects How do you use content in the future? Metadata makes digital objects understandable How do you know an object is authentic? Preservation metadata allows objects to be traced over time

Storage Media Options Offline (CDs, tape)* Online, nearline Hosted, collaborative services (e.g. MetaArchive) Cloud storage Digital Preservation Outreach & Education Australia plants seeds in Norway's doomsday vault doomsday-vault mpm.html

Cloud Storage Seek reviews, ask colleagues about their experiences with services Decide which files to include in the backup Test the system regularly

What drives storage decisions? Immediate Costs – Quantity (size and number of files) – Number of copies – Media (life span, availability) Other resources – Expertise (skills required to manage) – Services (local vs. hosted) – Partners (achieving geographic distribution) Institutional constraints (e.g., legal restrictions) Digital Preservation Outreach & Education

Organization matters! Create a directory structure that is meaningful Group like things together Consider how you (or your successor) will want to find things in the future Keep separate record of metadata Gene Banks Pay Big Dividends to Agriculture, the Environment, and Human Welfare Johnson RC PLoS Biology Vol. 6, No. 6, e148 doi: /journal.pbio Digital Preservation Outreach & Education

Store: Action Items Begin applying appropriate metadata to the files you will be storing Organize files + metadata (objects) Determine a budget for your storage needs Investigate storage media and services, e.g., external hard drives, cloud storage

IDENTIFY the types of digital content you have. SELECT what portion of your digital content will be preserved. STORE your selected content for the long term. PROTECT your content from everyday threats and emergency contingencies. MANAGE and implement requirements for long term management. PROVIDE access to digital content over time. Steps

What are we protecting content from? Change and loss – accidental and intentional Obsolescence – as technology evolves Inappropriate access – e.g., confidential data Non-compliance – standards and requirements Disasters – emergencies of all kinds Digital Preservation Outreach & Education

Storage media can fail or go obsolete.

Things can go wrong!

Everyday Protection Digital Preservation Outreach & Education Know where your content is located Onsite and offsite; online and offline Know who can have access to it DP staff, IT staff, others?

Readiness Proper planning should allow you to: Prevent – undesirable outcomes Predict – most likely risks and threats Detect – errors, problems, damage Respond – with appropriate measures Repair – damage or possible loss Digital Preservation Outreach & Education

Risk Management Steps to protect your content: Identify possible risks Define those risks (nature and scope) Assess potential impact (possible damage) Develop appropriate, feasible responses (plans) Respond to risks, threats (implement plans) Digital Preservation Outreach & Education

Disaster Planning Resources Digital Preservation Outreach & Education

Action Items Document steps taken to protect your digital content—have a plan! Create policies regarding who can access your stored digital content Include in your disaster plan steps to respond to an emergency surrounding your digital content

All images used in this presentation were used with permission. Laurie Sauer Information Technologies Librarian Knox College Thank you!