130 likes | 215 Views
Archiving Electronic Research Data: the ADS experience. Digital Data: a cautionary tale of the information age Digital Preservation: why and how Recognising good practice. ROB, Amersfoort 13/02/03 Dr William Kilbride wgk1@york.ac.uk. Digital Data.
E N D
Archiving Electronic Research Data: the ADS experience Digital Data: a cautionary tale of the information age Digital Preservation: why and how Recognising good practice ROB, Amersfoort 13/02/03 Dr William Kilbride wgk1@york.ac.uk
Digital Data Digital Data: a cautionary tale of the information age Strategies for Digital Data Findings and Recommendations from Digital Data in Archaeology: A Survey of User Needs Condron et al 1999 Cadw English Heritage Historic Scotland RCHME RCAHMW DoENI The Heritage Council RCAHMS
Digital Data The projected growth in the use of computers in British archaeology
Digital Archives The present state of digital archiving in archaeology: UK and the Republic of Ireland The popularity of certain storage options
Digital Archives The present state of digital archiving in archaeology: UK and the Republic of Ireland The popularity of typical strategies for protecting physical media
Digital Data In short, the archaeological record could be decaying faster in its digital form than it ever did in the ground … and then there was Newham
Digital Data The Newham Archive contained … 6432 individual files 1500 excavation reports (or parts) 700 database files 1200 geophysics files 200 separate projects approx. 150 excavations
Digital Data The Newham Archive Physical Media not the main problem Software problems (migration) Data to information (documentation) Plan for re-use Forward planning is much cheaper Preservation from the outset
But why preserve? Some major organisations already presume long term maintenance … … and many, many more.
why and how to preserve There are professional reasons why we should want to preserve: Research values No access without preservation Recognition Problems with conventional publication Professionalism The archaeological record
why and how to preserve • What you need to do for digital preservation • Backup • Migration • Security • Refreshment • Documentation • … and if you want, AHDS can do the boring work for you.
Preserving Digital Collections: collateral issues IPR Size matters Costs? Standards matter What we preserve is not always what you see Documentation is the key
Bland conclusions: These are exciting times for scholarship Longevity is not assured ADS = Archaeology, data and service Digital preservation service for data creators Service for anyone interested in archaeology ADS can help you … … but for our help to be useful, we also need to learn from you Dr William Kilbride wgk1@york.ac.uk ads.ahds.ac.uk