19
1 Digital Archives - Past, Present & Future Issues Anne Van Camp Manager, Member Initiatives The Research Libraries Group Digital Archives Directions (DADs) Workshop June 22-26, 1998

1 Digital Archives - Past, Present & Future Issues Anne Van Camp Manager, Member Initiatives The Research Libraries Group Digital Archives Directions (DADs)

Embed Size (px)

Citation preview

Page 1: 1 Digital Archives - Past, Present & Future Issues Anne Van Camp Manager, Member Initiatives The Research Libraries Group Digital Archives Directions (DADs)

1

Digital Archives - Past, Present & Future Issues

Anne Van Camp

Manager, Member Initiatives

The Research Libraries Group

Digital Archives Directions (DADs) Workshop

June 22-26, 1998

Page 2: 1 Digital Archives - Past, Present & Future Issues Anne Van Camp Manager, Member Initiatives The Research Libraries Group Digital Archives Directions (DADs)

2

What is RLG?

• 159 member institutionsUniversities, state and national archives, museums and galleries, national libraries, public and private research repositories, historical societies

• International compositionNorth America, UK and Ireland, Europe and Australia

Page 3: 1 Digital Archives - Past, Present & Future Issues Anne Van Camp Manager, Member Initiatives The Research Libraries Group Digital Archives Directions (DADs)

3

What is RLG?

• Mission

To collaboratively solve problems of access and preservation to research resources

• Member programs and initiatives– Resource sharing– Preservation– Primary sources– Art, law and area studies

• Electronic information networkBibliographic database - over 100 million items: MARC records,

citation files, archival finding aids, digital objects.

Page 4: 1 Digital Archives - Past, Present & Future Issues Anne Van Camp Manager, Member Initiatives The Research Libraries Group Digital Archives Directions (DADs)

4

Why is RLG a DADs Sponsor?

• We’re a stakeholder in the community trying to tackle preservation and access issues for digital information

• 25 years of experience working with our members to set standards and best practices in access and preservation

Page 5: 1 Digital Archives - Past, Present & Future Issues Anne Van Camp Manager, Member Initiatives The Research Libraries Group Digital Archives Directions (DADs)

5

Problem Statement

• Digital archiving and its attendant issues are common across institutions and are international in scope

• Need for collaboration on descriptive standards; technology; legal and regulatory issues; storage criteria, etc.

• Need for coordination of effort to avoid duplication

• Need to share the research agenda

Page 6: 1 Digital Archives - Past, Present & Future Issues Anne Van Camp Manager, Member Initiatives The Research Libraries Group Digital Archives Directions (DADs)

6

Preservation and Access - Past

1970s - early 1990s

• Brittle paper

• Disintegrating collections

• Localized resources– card catalogs– paper-based collection guides

• Descriptive cataloging

Page 7: 1 Digital Archives - Past, Present & Future Issues Anne Van Camp Manager, Member Initiatives The Research Libraries Group Digital Archives Directions (DADs)

7

Chaos to Control• Brittle books and paper

– Solutions included microfilming, conservation, stabilization and led to the establishment of standards and best practices for reformatting

– Collaborative work produced manuals and other tools to promulgate best practices

– Guidelines then adopted by funding agencies and the community at large

• Access & Description– Birth of electronic catalogs to share information about

research resources and subsequently about preservation and reformatting activities

Page 8: 1 Digital Archives - Past, Present & Future Issues Anne Van Camp Manager, Member Initiatives The Research Libraries Group Digital Archives Directions (DADs)

8

Preservation & Access - Present

Mid- to late 1990s

Overwhelmingly digital in nature• Digital preservation

• Magnetic media

• Metadata

• Web publications

• Electronic records

Page 9: 1 Digital Archives - Past, Present & Future Issues Anne Van Camp Manager, Member Initiatives The Research Libraries Group Digital Archives Directions (DADs)

9

Chaos to Control

Establishment of the RLG/CPA Task Force on Digital Archiving: 1994

• Frame the key problems that need to be resolved for technology refreshing to be considered an acceptable approach to ensuring continuing access.

• Consider alternatives to technology refreshing. • Make other generic recommendations as appropriate.

Page 10: 1 Digital Archives - Past, Present & Future Issues Anne Van Camp Manager, Member Initiatives The Research Libraries Group Digital Archives Directions (DADs)

10

Report Highlights

• Analysis of the digital landscape

• Creator responsibility

• Fail-safe mechanism to protect culturally valuable information

• Roles and responsibilities

• Strategies for migration

• Costs and financial matters.

Page 11: 1 Digital Archives - Past, Present & Future Issues Anne Van Camp Manager, Member Initiatives The Research Libraries Group Digital Archives Directions (DADs)

11

Interesting Outcomes (1 of 2)

• the recommendation that creators take preservation responsibility

• specified preserving not just the DATA, but USE of the data

• the big challenges are mostly organizational issues

• information *about* the information is important

Page 12: 1 Digital Archives - Past, Present & Future Issues Anne Van Camp Manager, Member Initiatives The Research Libraries Group Digital Archives Directions (DADs)

12

Interesting Outcomes (2 of 2)

• focus on things published in digital form

• the concept of certifying archives

• the concept of fail-safe, aggressive rescue

• there wasn't much feedback from the archival community

• transition from refreshment to migration

Page 13: 1 Digital Archives - Past, Present & Future Issues Anne Van Camp Manager, Member Initiatives The Research Libraries Group Digital Archives Directions (DADs)

13

International Reaction

• JISC/BRITISH LIBRARY Workshop as part of the Electronic Libraries Programme (eLib) Organized by UKOLN Nov. 1995

• Australian Working Party and National Preservation Office

Page 14: 1 Digital Archives - Past, Present & Future Issues Anne Van Camp Manager, Member Initiatives The Research Libraries Group Digital Archives Directions (DADs)

14

RLG’s Priorities

• requirements and standards for describing and managing digital information

• standards, criteria, and mechanisms for digital archives

• coordination with international digital preservation initiatives

Page 15: 1 Digital Archives - Past, Present & Future Issues Anne Van Camp Manager, Member Initiatives The Research Libraries Group Digital Archives Directions (DADs)

15

RLG Current Agenda

• Preservation Working Group on Digital Archiving– Survey of digital archiving needs– Examine and evaluate models for facilities– Develop guidelines for appraisal, selection, and priority setting for preserving

information in digital form

• Virtual collections projects• Training workshops for managing digital projects• RLG DigiNews• Metadata

– Metadata Summit– Working Group on Preservation Issues of Metadata– Working Group on Archival Metadata Issues

• Working Group on Preserving Magnetic Media

Page 16: 1 Digital Archives - Past, Present & Future Issues Anne Van Camp Manager, Member Initiatives The Research Libraries Group Digital Archives Directions (DADs)

16

Strategic Alliances

• Alliances, both national and international– CLIR http://www.clir.org

– DLF http://www.clir.org/diglib/dlfhomepage.htm

– NPO http://www.bl.uk/npo

– TASi http://www.tasi.ac.uk

– AHDS http://ahds.ac.uk

– eLib http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/services/elib/

– CEI http://www.jisc.ac.uk/cei/

– CURL http://www.curl.ac.uk

– CNI http://www.cni.org

– National Library of Australia http://www.nla.gov.au

Page 17: 1 Digital Archives - Past, Present & Future Issues Anne Van Camp Manager, Member Initiatives The Research Libraries Group Digital Archives Directions (DADs)

17

National and International Collaboration

• Learn from Colleagues• Test and extend new tools and models• Identify common problems and solutions• Agree on best practices• Benefit from shared products• Avoid duplication

Page 18: 1 Digital Archives - Past, Present & Future Issues Anne Van Camp Manager, Member Initiatives The Research Libraries Group Digital Archives Directions (DADs)

18

Digital Archives - Future Issues• Economic models

– Share experience on projects and vendor relations

• Legal issues– Get smarter about protection of privacy while ensuring openness

– Establish basis for aggressive rescue

• Long-term storage issues– Establish criteria for certification of digital archive facilities

• International acceptance of metadata and preservation standards

• Achieve international inter-institutional interoperability

Page 19: 1 Digital Archives - Past, Present & Future Issues Anne Van Camp Manager, Member Initiatives The Research Libraries Group Digital Archives Directions (DADs)

19

Useful URLs• RLG

http://www.rlg.org/ (US access)

http://www.thames.rlg.org (Int’l access)

• PRESERV Program:http://www.rlg.org/preserv/

• RLG DigiNews: http://www.rlg.org/preserv/diginews/

• RLG/CPA Task Force on Archiving of Digital Informationhttp://www.rlg.org/ArchTF/