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Use It or Lose It! Preserving Your Digital Documents

Use It or Lose It! Preserving Your Digital Documents. Rob Spindler, University Archivist Arizona State University Libraries ECURE 2004. Eight Challenges of Electronic Document Preservation. A review of fundamental issues Applies to desktop and enterprise level

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Use It or Lose It! Preserving Your Digital Documents

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  1. Use It or Lose It!Preserving Your Digital Documents Rob Spindler, University Archivist Arizona State University Libraries ECURE 2004 rob.spindler@asu.edu

  2. Eight Challenges of Electronic Document Preservation • A review of fundamental issues • Applies to desktop and enterprise level • All eight items must be addressed for success rob.spindler@asu.edu

  3. Eight Challenges – Storage Media 1. Physical Degradation of Storage Media • CD’s last 30-100 years, BUT • Temperature/Humidity • Pollutants  • Improper Handling • Scratches, bent • Label adhesives/Inks rob.spindler@asu.edu

  4. Eight Challenges – Storage Media 2. Physical Obsolescence of Storage Media • 5.25” floppy discs • Obsolete backup tape cartridges • Obsolete optical discs/cartridges rob.spindler@asu.edu

  5. Eight Challenges – Storage Media 3. Obsolescence of Media Recording or Playback Devices • Data storage efficiency increases 10X-50X every 10 years • Recording device production life about 10 years. • Mfg. product support 5-7 yrs. after production termination rob.spindler@asu.edu

  6. Eight Challenges – Storage Media Four Types of Recordable DVD: • DVD-R • DVD-RW (Pioneer device) • DVD-RAM – Type 1 & 2 (IBM, Gateway) • DVD+R / DVD+RW (Hewlett-Packard, Dell) rob.spindler@asu.edu

  7. Eight Challenges – Software 4. Migration Failure Three kinds of migration: • Migration to new release of same software. • Migration to new software • Migration to software independent format (e.g. ASCII Text) rob.spindler@asu.edu

  8. Eight Challenges – Software 4. Migration Failure (Software, Operating System or Encoding Incompatibility) • New software release won’t run file from old release. • New software release opens old file but contents are corrupted. rob.spindler@asu.edu

  9. Eight Challenges – Software • Incompatibility, continued: • Software is not compatible with operating system. • Display with one internet browser doesn’t look the same in a different browser. rob.spindler@asu.edu

  10. Eight Challenges – Software • Incompatibility, continued: • Proprietary codes from HTML editing packages do not convert to new HTML applications. • Browser does not support encoding standard used (XML). rob.spindler@asu.edu

  11. Eight Challenges – Human Factors 5. Human Error / Vandalism • Accidental or malicious deletion. • Website is vandalized. • Virus protection failure rob.spindler@asu.edu

  12. Eight Challenges – Backups 6. Backups and Snapshots • Backups lost or overwritten. • Wrong files backed up. • Incomplete snapshot: Video server backed up, web server not. rob.spindler@asu.edu

  13. Eight Challenges – Metadata 7. Lost or Absent Metadata • Data about Data • Two Types: Administrative Descriptive rob.spindler@asu.edu

  14. Eight Challenges – Metadata Administrative Metadata: • Hardware and Software Requirements • Maintenance & Migration History • Version Control • Data Dictionaries rob.spindler@asu.edu

  15. Eight Challenges – Metadata Descriptive Metadata: • Media Labels • File Lists • Electronic Descriptions: • File folder titles • Filenames • File Header – Dublin Core rob.spindler@asu.edu

  16. Eight Challenges – Metadata 8. Linkage/Addressing Failure: • URL in document changes • Linkage between description and digital object fails rob.spindler@asu.edu

  17. What to Do? Recommendations… 1) Actively manage your files! 2) Select Carefully! 3) Refresh and/or migrate to new storage media on a regular schedule 4) Consider redundant and/or offline storage rob.spindler@asu.edu

  18. What to Do? Recommendations… 5) If you can, use standards: • ASCII text • Unicode (supports foreign languages) • For HTML web documents, use W3c standards and verification service • For encoded text: TEI, XML rob.spindler@asu.edu

  19. What to Do? Recommendations… 6) If you must, select robust software: • Use widely adopted software with “large installed base” • Look for proven export capabilities • Ask about backwards compatibility rob.spindler@asu.edu

  20. What to Do? Recommendations… 7) Plan for migration and emulation: • Migrate legacy and active content: • to new release of same software • to compatible different software • Test migrations w/sample data • Retain obsolete software and files rob.spindler@asu.edu

  21. What to Do? Recommendations… 8) Address Human Factors: • Provide adequate training • Conduct audits and quality control checks • Create, maintain and document procedures • Maintain secure systems and virus protection. rob.spindler@asu.edu

  22. What to Do? Recommendations… 9) Create and Maintain Metadata: • Label your storage media • Create descriptive filenames and file folder titles • Make Data Dictionaries – consider paper or offline • Use Dublin Core for Webstuff rob.spindler@asu.edu

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