Long term preservation of digital information
Proceedings of the 1st ACM/IEEE-CS joint conference on Digital libraries
Avoiding Technological Quicksand: Finding a Viable Technical Foundation for Digital Preservation
Avoiding Technological Quicksand: Finding a Viable Technical Foundation for Digital Preservation
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Digital information in any form is at risk. Software and hardware become obsolete, and versions and file formats change, making data inaccessible. Data stored in even the simplest form are in danger due to computer media degradation and obsolescence. On-line information such as e-journals and databases are susceptible. They may become partially or entirely unreadable, and may not be recoverable by the time the problem is detected. Preservation strategies such as emulation (keeping alive the software and hardware needed to access a digital object), migration (converting the digital object to new versions and formats), and other long-term archival methods have been proposed [1-7]. Models such as the Open Archival Information System (OAIS) provide an architecture for conducting digital preservation research and experimentation [8-10]. The importance of preservation metadata has been recognized by a number of groups and efforts to develop and deploy metadata standards are underway [11-14].As more and more digital information is created, attention must be paid to what information should be preserved and how it can be preserved most economically and effectively. It is clear that for preservation to be successful, we need to pay attention not only to the format of digital objects, but also to the commitment we make to providing long-term access to the information. Thus, decisions about digital preservation will involve technical issues as well as economic, legal, social, and organizational ones. Is it possible or feasible to preserve all digital data automatically and in a cost effective way? How much functionality can or must be preserved? What type of metadata will be needed to ensure both access and preservation? What metrics do we use to evaluate whether our methods will be successful.Panelists will make short presentations about work in which they have been involved and which reflect a variety of aspects of digital preservation. Reagan Moore will discuss the levels of abstraction that are needed to create infrastructure independent representations for data, information, and knowledge, and he will discuss a prototype persistent digital archive. The persistent archive infrastructure has been developed for use by the National Archives and Records Administration and other Federal agencies. William Underwood will report on lessons learned in preserving digital records created on personal computers. The records being examined are the digital records created on personal computers during the administration of President George Bush (1988-1992). Vicky Reich will present work on the LOCKSS (Lots of Copies Keep Stuff Safe) project, which is a permanent web publishing and access system. LOCKSS software allows libraries to retain local collection control of materials delivered through the web while preserving the functionality of the original web based content. Robin Dale will report on activities of the preservation program of the Research Libraries Group (RLG). She will focus on the joint work of RLG and OCLC (Online Computer Library Center) on preservation metadata. Following the presentations by the four panelists, Alexa McCray will provide brief comments and then open the discussion for audience participation.