Metadata for digital preservation: a review of recent developments

Metadata for digital preservation: a review of

recent developments

Michael Day

UKOLN, University of [email protected]

ECDL2001, 5th European Conference on Research and Advanced Technology for Digital Libraries,

Darmstadt, Germany, 4-9 September 2001

ECDL2001, Darmstadt, 4-9 September 2001

Presentation overview

• Digital preservation strategies and metadata

• Recordkeeping approaches

• The OAIS model

• Some recent projects

Digital preservation strategies and metadata


Digital preservation (1)

The problem:• “... ensuring that digital information of

continuing value remains accessible and usable” - (Hedstrom, 1998)

• about access, not just long-term storage

• is a technical problem• but is also a huge organisational and

managerial problem


Digital preservation (2)

Preservation strategies:• Technology preservation - museums of

hardware and software• Emulation • Migration

All strategies depend to some extent on the creation and maintenance of metadata


Preservation metadata (1)

Metadata is an important part of any digital preservation strategy:

– Within a digital repository, “metadata accompanies and makes reference to each digital object and provides associated descriptive, structural, administrative, rights management, and other kinds of information.” (Lynch, 1999)

http://www.dlib.org/dlib/september99/09lynch.html

Recordkeeping metadata


Recordkeeping metadata (1)

Projects:• Functional Requirements for Evidence

in Recordkeeping– Metadata requirements for evidence

• Preservation of the Integrity of Electronic Records

– reliability and authenticity– identify necessary components of records

• InterPARES– typology of electronic records



Australian initiatives:• Recordkeeping Metadata Schema

(RKMS) - Monash University• Recordkeeping Metadata Standard for

Commonwealth Agencies - NAA• NSW Recordkeeping Metadata

Standard• Victorian Electronic Records Strategy

(VERS)



Archiving Metadata Forum (AMF):• Set-up at the Recordkeeping Metadata

Working Meeting held in the Netherlands in June 2000

http://www.archiefschool.nl/amf/

Reference Model for an Open Archival Information

System (OAIS)


The OAIS model (1)

Reference Model for an Open Archival Information System (OAIS):

– Consultative Committee on Space Data Systems (CCSDS)

– Red Book, Issue 2 (June 2001)– Establishes a common framework of terms and

concepts which comprise an OAIS– Facilitates the description and comparison of

archives– A basis for further standardisation (ISO)– A basis for conformance

http://ssdoo.gsfc.nasa.gov/nost/isoas/ref_model.html


The OAIS model (2)

Administration

Ingest

ArchivalStorage

Access

DataManagement

Descriptive info.

AIP

PRODUCER

CONSUMER

AIP

SIP

DIP

MANAGEMENT

queries

result sets

Descriptive info.

Preservation Planning

orders

OAIS Functional Model (Figure 4-1)


The OAIS model (3)

Archival Information Package (AIP):– Content Information

– The information that is the primary object of preservation. Containing a Digital Object and any Representation Information (technical metadata) needed to transform this object into meaningful information

– Preservation Description Information (PDI)– other information (metadata) “which will allow

the understanding of the Content Information over an indefinite period of time”

– Terms defined in CPA/RLG report


PreservationDescriptionInformation

Reference Information

ProvenanceInformation

ContextInformation

FixityInformation

Preservation Description Information:

The OAIS model (4)

OAIS Information Package Taxonomy (Figure 4-14)


The OAIS model (5)

OAIS Model - taxonomy:• Content Information:

– Digital Object– Representation Information

• Preservation Description Information:– Reference– Context– Provenance– Fixity

Digital preservation projects


NLA (1)

National Library of Australia• Experience with PANDORA project

– practically based, a ‘proof-of-concept’

• Preservation metadata for digital collections (October 1999)

– information that a digital storage system would need to generate in order to facilitate preservation management

– 25 high level elements, applied to three separate levels of granularity (collection, object file)


NLA (2)

NLA metadata schema:– e.g., Persistent Identifier, Date of creation,

Structural type, Technical Infrastructure of Complex Object, File description, Known System Requirements, Installation Requirements, Storage Information, Access Inhibitors, Finding and Searching Aids, and Access Facilitators, Quirks, etc.

– Metadata also records the administrative process of preservation, e.g. Institution Responsible for Archiving Decision, Institution with preservation responsibility, Process, etc.

http://www.nla.gov.au/preserve/pmeta.html


NEDLIB project (1)

NEDLIB (Networked European Deposit Library)• Funded by European Union’s Telematics

Applications Programme• Consortium of national libraries, publishers,

IT organisations and a national archive• Led by the National library of the

Netherlands

http://www.kb.nl/coop/nedlib/


NEDLIB project (2)

NEDLIB Metadata schema:• Lupovici & Masanès (2000)• adopted the OAIS model’s terminology

and broad structure• 18 elements, 38 sub-elements, e.g.:

– Representation Information:– e.g. Specific Hardware requirements, Operating

system, Object format, Application, etc.

– PDI and Descriptive Information:– e.g. Reference Information, Assigned Identifier,

URL, Checksum, Change History, etc.


Cedars project (1)

Cedars:• Led by the Consortium of University

Research Libraries (CURL) • Funded by the Joint Information

Systems Committee, initially as part of phase 3 of the eLib Programme

• Main partners: Universities of Cambridge, Leeds and Oxford; support from UKOLN for metadata work


Cedars project (2)

Metadata• Review of preservation metadata

initiatives (1998)• Draft metadata schema (2000)

– Adopted OAIS as framework– Included Content Information (including

Representation Information) and PDI

http://www.leeds.ac.uk/cedars/


Cedars project (3)

PDI:• Reference Information

– Resource Description– Title, Creator, etc.

– Reference labels– Existing metadata

• Context Information– Reason for Preservation– Related Information Objects


Cedars project (4)

• Provenance Information– History of Origin– Management History– Use History– Known Operating Environments– Rights Management

• Fixity Information– Checksum


Cedars project (5)

Continued project developments:• Project extension:

– practical focus– dissemination

– guidance documents on various topics (including preservation metadata)

– workshop

• CAMiLEON:– JISC/NSF International Digital Libraries

Programme– testing emulation strategies


OCLC/RLG working groups

Preservation Metadata Working Group:– White Paper - “Preservation metadata for

digital objects: a review of the state of the art” (March 2001)

– Group currently looking in more detail at definitions of Content Information and PDI

Digital Archive Attributes Working Group:– Draft paper - “Attributes of a trusted digital

repository” - (August 2001)

http://www.oclc.org/digitalpreservation/


To conclude ...

• Several different traditions:– Recordkeeping– Digital libraries– There are others ... sound and video archives,

geospatial data, datasets, etc.

• Importance of OAIS model• Development of metadata models and

schemas:– Not much practical implementation– No clear idea of required expertise and skills

(potential costs)


Acknowledgements

UKOLN is funded by Resource: the Council for Museums, Archives and Libraries, the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) of the UK higher and further education funding councils, as well as by project funding from the JISC and the European Union. UKOLN also receives support from the University of Bath where it is based.

http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/

Documents

Metadata for digital preservation: a review of recent developments