Gateways Heather Brown Project Officer, State Library of S.A, for Business Information Program, University of S.A. and Assistant Director, Paper, Artlab Australia

Gateways for digital preservation

The challenges 'Information stored in digital form is as delicate as archaeological remains of flora and fauna... Preservation of digital information requires active intervention; left unsecured it is susceptible to loss through the physical breakdown of the media, rendered inaccessible by technological advances, or left meaningless through lack of or insufficient contextual evidence.' Seamus Ross 2000

Construction phase

We have to start now… Start planning …Use Cornell University’s Online digital preservation tutorial Survey of Institutional readiness plans

Construction phase Gateways being constructed by variety of stakeholders Likely to be built and sustained by stakeholders with interest in or responsibility for preserving knowledge for future Gateways need to be active and open early in digital ‘life cycle’

What to preserve We cannot preserve everything Link with collection management policies Challenges - sheer volume, varying quality, new emerging genres, need to act quickly How much to select in web archiving –  PANDORA selective  Internet archive - whole domain UNESCO Guidelines Decision Tree DPC Handbook

What to preserve Example – decades old remote sensing data

Strengthening gateways - technological Cornell Digital Preservation model - 3 interrelated parts technologicalorganisational resourcing refreshing migrating emulating

Strengthening gateways - technologically Hybrid solutions - microfilm A low risk option for text-based content ‘Hybrid’ option: mf for long term preservation; digital copy for flexible access

Strengthening gateways - technologically Standards, guidelines & trusted frameworks The foundations – ensure quality and trustworthiness Good progress with particular formats e.g. TIFF ISO standards for preservation of digital materials UNESCO Guidelines OAIS model Provides common framework for describing & comparing digital archives

Strengthening gateways - technologically Preservation metadata Underpins OAIS framework Records info. needed to manage preservation ….PREMIS model Unique identifiers & encapsulation Help provide access to trusted digital objects Also digital watermarking, digital time stamping etc.

Strengthening gateways - technologically TRAC Checklist Guide for determining trustworthiness Uses risk management framework Draws on OAIS model

Flexibility New gateways need to be flexible to adapt to future changes

Strengthening gateways - resourcing Finding ongoing funding $R is challenging Overall volume of data will continue to grow - the ‘digital black hole’ Start up costs easier Ongoing costs mean reallocation resourcing

Strengthening gateways - organisational Reflected through the policies, procedures & plans Getting ‘buy in’ right from the top. Without this high level commitment, gateways will collapse e.g. ‘elevator pitch’ approaches of Cornell and DSpace. e.g. of high level policy NLA Digital Preservation Policy commitment

Strengthening gateways - organisational Way of sharing expertise Formal agreements & collaborations - sharing costs e.g. RLG The Internet Archive PADI UNESCO International Internet Preservation Consortium Collaborations cost & need commitment collaboration

Strengthening gateways - organisational Organisational infrastructure involves … W e need whole new skill sets Not only technological knowledge - also generic skills that relate to organisation & resourcing Challenge for universities & educators of librarians to provide relevant foundation of knowledge & skills for all to develop our knowledge & skills as part of life- long learning. Skills, education & training

Strengthening gateways - organisational Formal training e.g. - Business Information Management (BIM) Course - University of S.A. India - DELNET, ICDL Conference on Digital libraries, ISI’s International Workshop on digital preservation of heritage etc. Online courses – e.g. Cornell Tutorial PADI Skills, education & training

Conclusion Combination of features Still under construction  No ‘readymade’ kit Include the whole range of features… For maximum leverage – collaborate with parallel gateways Integration determines whether gateways will remain viable organisational resourcingtechnological

Conclusion Right combination is a dynamic ‘Good library management’ Assess the preservation readiness of your organisation’s digital resources You can no longer afford to delay…