Archival Technologies

Archival TechnologiesCliff Landis

Web Services Librarian Georgia State University

46th Annual Georgia Archives InstituteJune 10 – 21, 2013.

"Good grief, what have we gotten ourselves into..."

Learning Objectives

● Identify existing and emerging areas of archival technology development.

● Learn about the capabilities, pros, and cons of major archival management tools, such as Archon and Archivists' Toolkit.

● Learn about the capabilities, pros, and cons of major digital collection management tools, such as CONTENTdm and Islandora.

● Discover resources for further professional development in archival technology areas such as software, hardware, and standards.

IntroductionsEGO TIME!

● Library (and Archival) Technologist

● Author of A Social Networking Primer for Librarians (2010)

● Professional Geek● I work as a translator

between several library dialects including: Student, Techie, Librarian, Archivist and Administrator!

Why does this stuff matter?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/80749232@N00/2563365462/

Two questions

1) What one thing do you hope to learn today?

2) What one thing do you hope to do with archival technology?

The problem of "hidden collections"

The problem of "hidden collections"

The problem of "hidden collections"

http://www.clir.org/pubs/reports/spiro/spiro_Jan13.pdf

http://www.flickr.com/photos/31333486@N00/1977134004/

It's all about using the right tool for the job...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/takomabibelot/4355506368/

Preliminary Considerations

● Free vs. paid● Open source vs. closed source● Local server vs. cloud hosted● Few features vs. many features (vs. some

features)● Web-based vs. client-based● Ease of setup, ease of use● Degree of technical support● Standards compliance

Archival management software

aka, "What's all this old stuff, where did we put it, and what can we do with it?"

Archon

http://sandbox.archon.org/latest/index.php?p=digitallibrary/digitalcontent&id=777

Archon

http://sandbox.archon.org/latest/index.php?p=admin/avsap/avsapstoragefacilities

Archon

● Developed by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2006-2011).

● Free, Open-Source Software (FOSS), locally hosted, many features, limited exports.

● Has both a back-end (for managing records) and a front-end (for access).

● Full life-cycle management. Lacks some features (some metadata exports, deaccessioning, etc.).

Archivists' Toolkit

Archivists' Toolkit

Archivists' Toolkit

Archivists' Toolkit

● Developed with a Mellon Foundation grant and continued by Five Colleges, Inc., New York University Libraries, and the UC San Diego Libraries (2006-2009).

● Free, Open-Source Software (FOSS), locally hosted, many features, exports in many standards/formats.

● Server and client software● Has a back-end (for managing records). No web

publishing available.● Full life-cycle management. Lacks some features

(backup/restore, publishing finding aids, etc.)

Up next: ArchivesSpace

http://aspace.hudmol.com/wireframes/resource_workflow/02_create_resource.horizontal_tree_pane.png

Up next: ArchivesSpace

● Funded by a Mellon Foundation grant, created by New York University, the University of California San Diego, and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Hmmmm...those names look familiar...

● The best of both worlds?● Version 1.0 in "late July" 2013● Membership option, free option ● "Organizational home" at LYRASIS● http://www.archivesspace.org/● https://github.com/hudmol/archivesspace

ICA-AtoM

http://demo.ica-atom.org/job-no-580-vancouver-city-hall-construction-site;isad

ICA-AtoM

● ICA-AtoM is web-based archival description software that is based on International Council on Archives ('ICA') standards. 'AtoM' is an acronym for 'Access to Memory' (2008-2013).

● Developed by Artefactual Systems in collaboration with the ICA Program Commission (PCOM) and a growing network of international partners.

● Free, Open-Source Software (FOSS). Web-based, so requires server or virtual appliance setup.

Others

● Adlib Archive● Calm for Archives● Cuadra STAR / Archives● Eloquent Archives● MINISIS M2A● Collective Access● PastPerfect...and many more

Digital collections/asset management software

aka, "Isn't all that old stuff online by now?"

Fedora

http://dl.tufts.edu/

Fedora

● NOT the Linux operating system....● aka: Fedora Repository / Fedora Commons● Developed by Cornell University and the University of

Virginia Library, currently supported by DuraSpace● FOSS, server-side.● Flexible architecture, allowing you to customize it (add

on components) to meet local needs. Requires more work.

● Ingest, management, and basic delivery -- not a full-fledged system for managing digital assets.

Islandora

http://mirc.sc.edu/islandora/object/usc%3A1840

Islandora

● Fedora (asset management), Drupal (website functionality) and Solr (search). Additional "Solution Packs" of software to manage particular data types (books, PDFs, large images, etc.).

● Developed by Prince Edward Island University.● FOSS, server-side. Has to be assembled by

programmers / systems folks. Requires a LOT of work and maintenance at this point. Not a "download and double-click" software.

CONTENTdm

http://digitalcollections.library.gsu.edu/cdm/search/collection/MapsTest

CONTENTdm

http://digitalcollections.library.gsu.edu/cdm/singleitem/collection/MapsTest/id/17/rec/37

CONTENTdm (and a lot of work...)

http://digitalcollections.library.gsu.edu/maps/?overlay=atlpm0031e

CONTENTdm

● Closed source, OCLC, and paid (expensive!).● A full system for managing digital collections. Can be

hosted by OCLC or run on your own servers (hosted version limits customization).

● Server-side software, web interface and project client software. Lots of moving pieces to get to work together with limited documentation and slow technical support response time.

Greenstone

http://chopin.lib.uchicago.edu/gsdl/cgi-bin/library?e=d-000-00---0chopin--00-0-0-0prompt-10---4---Document---0-1l--1-en-Zz-1---50-home---001-001-1-0utfZz-8-0&a=d&cl=CL1.1&d=CHOP114.22

Greenstone

http://www.aliveintruth.org/

Greenstone

● Developed by New Zealand Digital Library Project at the University of Waikato, with support from UNESCO.

● FOSS, server-side.● Multi-lingual and multi-national.● Unsure how active the development community is, as I

haven't seen much work on it since 2012.

Dspace

https://smartech.gatech.edu/

Dspace

http://vtext.valdosta.edu:8080/xmlui/

Dspace

● Developed by the MIT Libraries and Hewlett-Pckard Labs

● FOSS, server-side. Hosted option available (DSpaceDirect)

● Manakin add-on for improved user interface● Not easy to set up or customize, but effective

Others

● Tripod2 (Duke University, in-house)● Keystone (Index Data)● EPrints (University of Southampton)● and many more...

Display and Accessaka, "All this old stuff can tell a story..."

Omeka

http://braddockheritage.org/

Omeka

Omeka

● Web publishing of narratives around digital collections.● Center for History and New Media (CHNM) at George

Mason University● FOSS, server-side. Hosted versions also available.● Designed to be relatively easy to use for non-technical

folks.● Has plugins available for additional functionality (OAI-

PMH, CSV import, Dublin Core, etc.)

Others

● Collective Access● Virtual Exhibit (for Past Perfect)● Internet Archive● Picasa/Flickr● Blogs/Websites● and many more...

OTHER STUFF!Cliff says "hang on to your brain..."

Digital Preservation Hardware

● Media readers (drives, connections)○ Floppy Discs○ Zip○ Jaz○ CD / DVD / BluRay / Laserdisc○ Cartridges○ Microcards

● Write-blockers / Forensic Bridges○ Tableau○ Weibe Tech

See: Webinar: “Intro to Digital Preservation #3 — “Management of Incoming Born-Digital Special Collections”

Digital Preservation Software

● FITS & JHOVE: used to identify file formats and extract metadata

● IdentityFinder: searches for Personally Identifiable Information (PII)

● PREMIS: manage metadata of digital objects● Bagit: file transfers● BitCurator & Archivematica: accessioning

through access

See: Intro to Digital Preservation websinar series

Formats & Protocols & Standards!● XML: eXtensible Markup Language● DTD: Document Type Definition (aka "Schema")● EAD: Encoded Archival Description● OAI-PMH: The Open Archives Initiative Protocol for

Metadata Harvesting● OAI-ORE: The Open Archives Initiative Protocol for

Object Reuse and Exchange● RSS: Really Simple Syndication● DC: Dublin Core (also DCMI)● RDF: Resource Description Framework● SQL: Structured Query Language● MODS: Metadata Object Description Schema● METS: Metadata Encoding and Transmission Standard

Linked Open Data (2010-09)

Linked Open Data

Linked Jazz

http://linkedjazz.org/

https://www.google.com/search?q=georgia+state+university

Semantic Web

BUT WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?!?!!● Microformats: a way of adding human- and machine-

readable metadata into existing HTML webpages.○ COinS: ContextObjects in Spans. Allows users to

embed machine-readable bibliographic metadata in HTML webpages.

● RDFa Lite: Resource Description Framework in attributes - another way of adding human- and machine-readable metadata into existing HTML pages.

Why does this stuff matter?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/80749232@N00/2563365462/

Resources:● Spiro, Lisa (2009). Archival Management Software: A

Report for the Council on Library and Information Resources. http://www.clir.org/pubs/reports/spiro/spiro_Jan13.pdf and http://archivalsoftware.pbworks.com

● Bean, Carol (2010). Comparing Digital Library Systems (BeanWorks). http://beanworks.clbean.com/2010/04/comparing-digital-library-systems/

● Association of Southeastern Research Libraries. Archived Webinars / Materials. http://aserl.org/archive

● Digital Preservation - Tools Showcase. http://www.digitalpreservation.gov/tools/

● W3C Schools. http://www.w3schools.com/

Not that it has to be said, but...

Disclaimer!All images and excerpts included are being used under the auspices of Fair Use for the purposes of nonprofit education, criticism, and comment as outlined in 17 U.S.C. § 107.

Questions?Cliff Landis

Web Services Librarian Georgia State University

46th Annual Georgia Archives InstituteJune 10 – 21, 2013.