Digital Preservation for Libraries, Archives, and Museums

Digital Preservation in Libraries, Archives, and Museums represents a new approach to getting started with digital preservation: that of what cultural heritage professionals need to know as they begin their work. For administrators and practitioners alike, the information in this book is presented readably, focusing on management issues and best practices. Although this book addresses technology, it is not solely focused on technology. After all, technology changes and digital preservation is aimed for the long term. This is not a how-to book giving step-by-step processes for certain materials in a given kind of system. Instead, it addresses a broad group of resources that could be housed in any number of digital preservation systems. Finally, this book is about "things (not technology; not how-to; not theory) I wish I knew before I got started." Digital preservation is concerned with the life cycle of the digital object in a robust and all-inclusive way. Many Europeans and some North Americans may refer to digital curation to mean the same thing, taking digital preservation to be the very limited steps and processes needed to insure access over the long term. The authors take digital preservation in the broadest sense of the term: looking at all aspects of curating and preserving digital content for long term access. The book is divided into four parts based on the Digital Preservation Triad: Situating Digital Preservation, Management Aspects, Technology Aspects, and Content-Related Aspects. The book includes a foreword by Michael Lesk, eminent scholar and forerunner in digital librarianship and preservation. The book features an appendix providing additional information and resources for digital preservationists. Finally, there is a glossary to support a clear understanding of the terms presented in the book. Digital Preservation will answer questions that you might not have even known you had, leading to more successful digital preservation initiatives.

About the Author :
Edward M. Corrado is director of library technology at Binghamton University, Binghamton, New York. He has written articles and presented at multiple national and international conferences on various library technology topics, including digital preservation and cloud computing. His other research interests include open source software in libraries, social software in libraries, and the role of libraries in Democracy 2.0. Heather Lea Moulaison is assistant professor at the iSchool at the University of Missouri. Her research interests include metadata, digital libraries, cloud computing, international librarianship, web technologies, and information organization and access.

Review :
Edward Corrado and Heather Moulaison's Digital Preservation for Libraries, Archives, and Museums is a dense, practical compendium. Building on their previous collaboration . . . their newest book is a readable, up-to-date guide that goes well beyond the usual OAIS model and file formats in including summaries of major initiatives and significant publications in the emerging field of digital preservation. . . .As the field of digital preservation matures and new tools, rubrics, and guidelines evolve, this book is a timely overview. What it lacks in depth, it more than makes up for in comprehensiveness and concision. I personally refer to it in the course of my own work to ensure that I have not overlooked anything.--Metropolitan Archivist Corrado and Moulaison have provided a timely and invaluable resource for libraries, archives, and museums grappling with the many challenges of digital preservation. As a museum curator often confused by the complexities of digital preservation, this book offers insight into the questions we should be asking, as well as a systematic approach for dealing with digital preservation. A must-read for all museum professionals! --Shannon Meyer, Senior Curator, Missouri History Museum Digital Preservation for Libraries, Archives, & Museums provides a comprehensive overview of the state of the art and practice in a single volume. The approach is a pragmatic one that covers the requisite theoretical aspects where needed, and is accessible to the non-technical reader who is willing to learn about some of the detail around technical aspects of digital preservation. Recommended for librarians and archivists, curation professionals in the cultural heritage sector, as well as administrators who need to get up to speed on this topic and unpack issues around it for new programs and services. --Pascal Calarco, Associate University Librarian, University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada