originally: http://www.oclc.org/programs/ourwork/past/earlydig/final.htm
Final Report of Recommendations for Digital ArchivingFrom the RLG Preservation Working Group on Digital
Archiving Recommended areas for RLG actionArea #1: Identify and analyze the digital archiving needs of RLG member institutionsRLG should identify and better quantify the kinds of services members need to continue meeting their institutional mission in an increasingly electronic environment. The RLG membership consists of diverse, international institutions with wide-ranging needs and differing levels of expertise and technical capacity. The analysis must take into account these institutional and international variations as well as considering long-term storage needs and the required access to both locally created and owned electronic data. Assignment. This work could be contracted as a graduate or internship research project with appropriate management and project oversight. The working group recommends the project be coordinated by Margaret Hedstrom, Associate Professor at the School of Information, University of Michigan, and a member of the working group. Tasks: a. Develop a survey instrument to gather and analyze
data about needed services. These might include services for the
management of metadata about digital holdings of member institutions,
the preservation of common or shared collections, the preservation of
digital objects in specialized formats, the conversion of digital
materials from obsolete formats, or a cooperative/consortial digital
archiving facility. Time frame. The project could be done in four months or one academic semester. Work could begin by January 1998. Outcomes: —A tested survey instrument that can be used
broadly among RLG member institutions to identify and measure present
and near future digital archiving needs. Area #2: Examine and evaluate existing models for managing digital archiving facilities to determine models that can be adopted by member institutions and implemented by RLG to satisfy member needsA selected group of existing digital repositories should be examined in detail for their policies, procedures, and strategies for managing their digital archiving facilities and services. A summary of the common denominators, specific strategies, and best practices can be used to define models for the digital library community. Models will be compared to member survey data to determine which elements are applicable and can be implemented to meet the archiving needs of RLG members. Assignment. To a new international working group of members recruited from key projects and programs. Charge them to: —Analyze centralized and distributed models
for digital archiving facilities. Tasks: a. Identify a variety of existing, successful digital
repositories representing a range of formats, users, and practices.
Possible sites include the Essex Data Archive; Inter-university
Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR); a scholarly
society that is preserving electronic journals (American Physical
Society, Association of Computing Machinery, Institute of Electrical
and Electronics Engineers); a commercial publisher; a pharmaceutical
company (Pfizer, Astra); a scientific database (Hubble Space Telescope
data archive, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration database,
National Space Science Data Center); a film producer (Dreamworks); the
Digital Library Federation program; the UK Consortium of University
Research Libraries' Cedars project. Time frame. This work can be carried out simultaneously with the work in Area #1. Work can be completed by late 1998. Outcomes: —Assembled information about existing
archiving models that brings together in a useful way information about
best practices and lessons. Area #3: Develop guidelines for appraisal, selection, and priority setting for preserving information in digital formRLG should appoint a task force of archivists, curators/collection development managers, and preservation administrators to formulate appraisal guidelines for digital materials. This task force should be formed under the leadership of RLG's Primary Sources program and be integrated into [that community's] strategic action plan. The task force should pay particular attention to information resources that exist exclusively in digital form or where digital formats offer distinct advantages over paper or analog formats. Guidelines for preserving digital materials should be coordinated with broad appraisal and selection guidelines for archival and library materials. The task force should investigate mechanisms for distributing selection and preservation responsibilities among different institutions based on subject areas, formats, or particular user communities. Assignment. To a new task force of interested members who are involved in appraisal, selection, and preservation of digital materials and who include representatives from archival, collection development, and preservation areas. Charge them to: —Determine whether there are existing
guidelines in member institutions for appraisal, selection and
preservation of digital information. Tasks: a. Survey, collect and analyze existing guidelines in
this area. Time frame. The work should be completed within a year of appointing the task force. Outcomes: —Assembled information about existing
preservation guidelines for digital materials. |