Digital Preservation for Libraries, Archives, and Museums

This new edition of Digital Preservation in Libraries, Archives, and Museums is the most current, complete guide to digital preservation available today. 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 part: 1.Situating Digital Preservation, 2.Management Aspects, 3.Technology Aspects, and 4.Content-Related Aspects. Digital Preservation will answer questions that you might not have even known you had, leading to more successful digital preservation initiatives.

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgements Foreword to the First Edition by Michael Lesk List of Figures and Tables Preface PART I: SITUATING DIGITAL PRESERVATION What is Digital Preservation?Getting Started with the Digital Preservation TriadPART II: MANAGEMENT ASPECTS Management for Digital PreservationThe OAIS Reference Model Organizing Digital ContentConsortia and Membership OrganizationsHuman Resources and Education 8. Sustainable Digital Preservation PART III: TECHNOLOGY ASPECTS Digital Repository Software and Digital Preservation Systems10. The Digital Preservation Repository and Trust11. Metadata for Digital Preservation 12. File Formats and Software for Digital Preservation 13. Emulation PART IV: CONTENT-RELATED ASPECTS 14. Selecting Content 15. Preserving Research Data 16. Preserving Humanities Content 17. Digital Preservation of Selected Specialized Formats Conclusion Appendix A: Select Resources in Support of Digital Preservation Glossary Bibliography About the Authors Index

About the Author :
A librarian, administrator, and information technology expert, Edward M. Corrado is Associate Dean, Library Technology Planning and Policy at the University of Alabama where he is responsible for the information technology operations and planning, and executing a strategic vision for library technology. He has published and presented nationally and internationally on various topics including digital preservation, cloud computing, open source software, emerging technologies in libraries, and the role of libraries in democracy 2.0. He earned his MLS from Rutgers University. Heather Moulaison Sandy is assistant professor at the iSchool at the University of Missouri. Her research focuses on the intersection of organization of information (e.g., cataloging and classification, and metadata) and digital information technologies (e.g., digital libraries and platforms), with the long-term access to materials emerging as a natural combination of the two. Moulaison Sandy has published and presented nationally and internationally in these areas. Her teaching interests stem from these interests as well, with Moulaison Sandy teaching classes in both areas at the iSchool.

Review :
Corrado and Moulaison Sandy's work on digital preservation sheds new light on how to create and sustain a digital preservation program. Focusing on the inter-connected areas of management, technology and content the ‘digital preservation triad’ provides libraries, archives and museums with an useful model for approaching just about any type of digital preservation issue. This very thorough and well researched book on digital preservation is for libraries, archives and museums of all sizes. It covers a wide range of digital preservation topics which will prove useful for managers and technical staff alike. The foreword to the book states that digital preservation is not a problem but an opportunity. The topics covered in this book help the reader understand how to implement these opportunities within their own organization. Digital preservation cannot be done in isolation from the rest of the organization; it needs to be an integral part of the whole. The authors demonstrate that with the proper resources and technical expertise, organizations can preserve "today's digital content long into the future.” Corrado and Moulaison Sandy provide a broad view of digital preservation, beyond the technical aspects of bit-level preservation, and capture expertly the interrelatedness of content, technology, and management. Digital Preservation for Libraries, Archives, and Museums is an essential resource for librarians, archivists, and curators involved in planning and managing digital preservation activities. Recommended for faculty and students in library and information science programs, especially for courses in digital libraries, digital preservation, digitization, and data curation.