www. preservationsolutionsaustralia.com.au Howell, A 2006 Digital preservation policies: A guide to their creation and management 1 Digital preservation policies: A guide to their creation and management Alan Howell Preservation Solutions Australia

Howell, A 2006 Digital preservation policies: A guide to their creation and management 2 Overview Background to digital preservation policy Model digital preservation policy elements Summary Microsoft ® PowerPoint ® presentation on website Full paper in publication: Preserving digital information: Challenges and solutions soon!

www. preservationsolutionsaustralia.com.au Howell, A 2006 Digital preservation policies: A guide to their creation and management 3 Background to digital preservation policy Definitions Policy framework Drivers for digital preservation policy development Benefits of having a digital preservation policy Provisos Key resources

www. preservationsolutionsaustralia.com.au Howell, A 2006 Digital preservation policies: A guide to their creation and management 4 Digital preservation policy: where are we at? ? How many people in the audience have a business need to keep digital resources for five years or more? Keep your hand up if you have a digital preservation policy? Remember your answer

www. preservationsolutionsaustralia.com.au Howell, A 2006 Digital preservation policies: A guide to their creation and management 5 Definitions Digital preservation Preservation policy statement Preservation policy Preservation strategy Preservation procedure

www. preservationsolutionsaustralia.com.au Howell, A 2006 Digital preservation policies: A guide to their creation and management 6 Digital preservation: simple ‘… the processes involved in maintaining information and other kinds of heritage that exist in a digital form.’ (Webb, 2003 p.20)

www. preservationsolutionsaustralia.com.au Howell, A 2006 Digital preservation policies: A guide to their creation and management 7 Digital preservation: expanded All that needs to be done including technical, organisational, financial and cultural considerations to increase the likelihood that the intellectual content and/or the evidential status of significant digital resources remains usable and unaltered - or altered within acceptable and documented limits (various authors)

www. preservationsolutionsaustralia.com.au Howell, A 2006 Digital preservation policies: A guide to their creation and management 8 Preservation policy statement A declaration by an entity (organisation, state, country, etc) about its role/purpose, beliefs and its commitment to pursue certain aims. A statement of management intent. Examples ‘[The National Library of Australia] … will endeavour to preserve in original or surrogate format all materials for which it accepts responsibility under the DNC.’ (NLA, 2001?) ‘[The National Archives of New Zealand’s] … main concern is to ensure the survival of permanently valuable material and thereby preserve the corporate memory of government.’ (NANZ, 1997) ‘… one of the world’s best in collecting, conserving and communicating information.’ (SLNSW, 1990)

www. preservationsolutionsaustralia.com.au Howell, A 2006 Digital preservation policies: A guide to their creation and management 9 Preservation policy An authorised, formal, statement that sets out (among other things) what is - and as importantly - what is not to be preserved within an entity, for how long, the priorities and accountabilities Forms an integral part of the overall policy of an entity. Takes account of an entity’s raison d’être, philosophy, risk profile, users’ needs and its context within state, national and - sometimes - international frameworks Provides clear, high-level, long-term direction (over 5, 10 or more years) Demonstrates benefits Practicable, achievable and adaptable Regularly reviewed to remain relevant

www. preservationsolutionsaustralia.com.au Howell, A 2006 Digital preservation policies: A guide to their creation and management 10 Preservation strategy The plan that sets out: the technical, organisational and cultural methods and techniques to be used to preserve (or attempt to preserve) specific categories/classes or types of digital objects throughout their life-cycle

www. preservationsolutionsaustralia.com.au Howell, A 2006 Digital preservation policies: A guide to their creation and management 11 Preservation procedure The detailed guidelines for operational activities to implement the strategy

www. preservationsolutionsaustralia.com.au Howell, A 2006 Digital preservation policies: A guide to their creation and management 12 Policy framework Authority Collection Policy Digital Preservation Policy Preservation Policy StrategyProceduresPlans

www. preservationsolutionsaustralia.com.au Howell, A 2006 Digital preservation policies: A guide to their creation and management 13 Policy and risk framework Authority Collection Policy Digital Preservation Policy Preservation Policy StrategyProceduresPlans

www. preservationsolutionsaustralia.com.au Howell, A 2006 Digital preservation policies: A guide to their creation and management 14 Drivers for digital preservation policy development Compliance (legislation, due diligence) Staking out the territory Business need Stakeholders’ expectations (now and in the future) Shareholder value RQF Digitising programs Internal effectiveness, efficiency and accountability Bringing coherence to the structural and technical heterogenity of the different types of digital materials (Erpanet, 2003 p.4)

www. preservationsolutionsaustralia.com.au Howell, A 2006 Digital preservation policies: A guide to their creation and management 15 Benefits of having a digital preservation policy (Erpanet, 2003 p.4) Developing digital preservation strategy Planning coherent digital preservation programs Ensuring and reinforcing accountability Demonstrating funds can and will be used responsibly and consistently Ensuring digital materials are available for current and future use Defining significant properties that need to be preserved for particular types of resources Assisting agencies develop digitising programs Providing a comprehensive statement on digital preservation Providing security measures that ensure the protection of digital materials during use

www. preservationsolutionsaustralia.com.au Howell, A 2006 Digital preservation policies: A guide to their creation and management 16 Provisos Very few digital preservation policies to draw on Mostly in first iteration Mostly from cultural heritage sector - libraries in particular Other sectors and institutions have developed excellent policy on digital preservation but either not published as ‘Policy’or spread across number of documents (eg National Archives of Australia) My aim is a ‘core’ set of common policy themes but recognise that organisational context and existence of other policy documents will drive the scope of specific policies Some institutions will want more, other institutions less detail A model policy will not suit everyone: it’s a thought starter

www. preservationsolutionsaustralia.com.au Howell, A 2006 Digital preservation policies: A guide to their creation and management 17 Key resources National Library of Australia 2001, Digital preservation policy, ERPANET 2003, Digital preservation policy tool, State Library of Victoria 2006, Digital preservation policy, ation.html ation.html DCC and DPC Joint Workshop: Policies for long-term curation and preservation, University of Oxford, July 2006,

www. preservationsolutionsaustralia.com.au Howell, A 2006 Digital preservation policies: A guide to their creation and management 18 Model digital preservation policy areas Document identification Entity, Title, Date, Unique identifier, Name and role of creator, Status Document history Previous versions, Change history Authorities for the policy Entity function and powers, Executive body authorising the policy Related documents All related policies and plans required to interpret the policy Purpose of the policy Audience, rationale, intended impact

www. preservationsolutionsaustralia.com.au Howell, A 2006 Digital preservation policies: A guide to their creation and management 19 Benefits of the policy technical, organisational, financial, cultural benefits of the policy Scope of the policy Inclusions: Digital objects to be preserved and the rationale Exclusions: Digital objects not addressed by the policy and rationale Priorities for digital preservation The digital objects that will be given preference and why Timeframes for digital preservation In the life-cycle of objects, when will the preservation decision be taken Which objects are intended for short, medium, permanent preservation Policy statements Statements on intent, beliefs, rights, conventions, standards (eg OAIS, RLG Trusted Digital Repositories checklist, PREMIS etc)

www. preservationsolutionsaustralia.com.au Howell, A 2006 Digital preservation policies: A guide to their creation and management 20 Definitions Definitions of terms used in the policy but not in general usage Roles and responsibilities Which role(s) is responsible for implementing/monitoring the policy Digital object creation Technical spec (resolution, bit-depth, data format, metadata, etc) Digital object management (DOM) Including: carrier for incoming materials, preferred data formats for long- term preservation, reformatting ‘rules’, DOM metadata, disposal ‘rules’, packaging and documentation, obsolete formats, hardware/op. systems and documentation, contextural resources, authenticity regime, outsourcing ‘rules’

www. preservationsolutionsaustralia.com.au Howell, A 2006 Digital preservation policies: A guide to their creation and management 21 Digital object storage Rules for physical digital object storage, how and what digital objects will be stored online, nearline and offline Disaster preparedness What disasters are envisaged - how does the entity aim to mitigate them Control of digital preservation What control, monitoring and auditing will be undertaken Security planning Levels of security - how does the entity aim to achieve them Technology watch How will the entity get and stay informed on the obsolescence of data formats

www. preservationsolutionsaustralia.com.au Howell, A 2006 Digital preservation policies: A guide to their creation and management 22 Resourcing digital preservation The entity’s position on the human, financial, physical and material resources required for digital preservation Agreements Under what circumstances will the entity into agreements with others for the long-term preservation of digital objects Research and advice Will the entity undertake research / provide advice to others Cooperation The entity’s position on cooperation and collaboration Review How will the entity review the policy, frequency and role(s)

www. preservationsolutionsaustralia.com.au Howell, A 2006 Digital preservation policies: A guide to their creation and management 23 Summary All organisations that create, manage or collect digital information or objects need a digital preservation policy A public statement that sets out the philosophy of an organisation concerning digital preservation. As a minimum, a digital preservation policy defines the types of digital objects that will and will not be preserved, for how long, the principal methods to be used, the priorities, the risks to be managed, how progress will be measured and who will be responsible for these preservation activities. A digital preservation policy includes not only technological specifications but also organisational, financial and cultural aspects impacting on the life cycle of digital objects. Developing a digital preservation policy brings multiple benefits Ultimately ensuring digital materials are available for current and future use

www. preservationsolutionsaustralia.com.au Howell, A 2006 Digital preservation policies: A guide to their creation and management 24 Digital preservation policy: where are we going? ? Again, raise your hand up if you have a digital preservation policy? Do any of the rest of the audience want to join us?

www. preservationsolutionsaustralia.com.au Howell, A 2006 Digital preservation policies: A guide to their creation and management 25 Digital preservation policies: A guide to their creation and management Alan Howell Preservation Solutions Australia