Practical Digital Preservation: A How-to Guide for Organizations of Any Size

A practical guide to the development and operation of digital preservations services for organizations of any size Practical Digital Preservation offers a comprehensive overview of best practice and is aimed at the non-specialist, assuming only a basic understanding of IT. The book provides guidance as to how to implement strategies with minimal time and resources. Digital preservation has become a critical issue for institutions of all sizes but until recently has mostly been the preserve of national archives and libraries with the resources, time and specialist knowledge available to experiment. As the discipline matures and practical tools and information are increasingly available the barriers to entry are falling for smaller organizations which can realistically start to take active steps towards a preservation strategy. However, the sheer volume of technical information now available on the subject is becoming a significant obstacle and a straightforward guide is required to offer clear and practical solutions. Each chapter in Practical Digital Preservation covers the essential building blocks of digital preservation strategy and implementation, leading the reader through the process. International case studies from organizations such as the Wellcome Library, Central Connecticut State University Library in the USA and Gloucestershire Archives in the UK illustrate how real organizations have approached the challenges of digital preservation. Key topics include: • Making the case for digital preservation • Understanding your requirements • Models for implementing a digital preservation service • Selecting and acquiring digital objects • Accessioning and ingesting digital objects • Describing digital objects • Preserving digital objects • Providing access to users • Future trends. Readership: Anyone involved in digital preservation and those wanting to get a better understanding of the process, students studying library and information science (LIS), archives and records management courses and academics getting to grips with practical issues.

Table of Contents:
1. Introduction Introduction Who is this book for? Minimum requirements Some digital preservation myths The current situation A very brief history of digital preservation A note on terminology Getting the most from this book Notes 2. Making the case for digital preservation Introduction Understanding the drivers Developing a policy Developing a digital asset register Developing a business case Next steps Key points Notes 3. Understanding your requirements Introduction Identifying stakeholders Talking to stakeholders Modelling your processes Learning from other people’s requirements Documenting your requirements How to use your requirements Conclusion Key points Notes 4. Models for implementing a digital preservation service Introduction Options The current market Approaches to procurement Implementation Operating a digital repository Trusted digital repositories A digital preservation maturity model Case studies Key points Notes 5. Selecting and acquiring digital objects Introduction The selection and transfer process Starting points for selection and transfer Approaches to selection Legal considerations for selection Technical considerations for selection Standards and methods for transfer Transfer agreements Preparing for transfer Completing the transfer process Conclusion Key points Notes 6. Accessioning and ingesting digital objects Introduction Defining an accession process Creating or acquiring a Submission Information Package Quarantine Characterization Validating the SIP Enhancing SIP metadata Ingest: generating an AIP Normalization and other transformations Automating accession First aid for digital accessions Case studies Key points Notes 7. Describing digital objects Introduction The role of metadata Metadata standards Deciding on metadata standards Sources of metadata Storing and managing metadata Associating metadata and data Interoperability Case studies Key points Notes 8. Preserving digital objects Introduction The goals of preservation The nature of digital information The challenge: threats to preservation Preservation strategies Managing change: the concept of multiple manifestations Bitstream preservation Logical preservation Conclusion: preservation in practice Key points Notes 9. Providing access to users Introduction What do we mean by access? Finding digital objects Options for access: technical considerations Options for access: conditions of access Options for access: online versus on-site access Understanding user expectations Access and reuse Access systems in practice Designing a front end Citing digital records: persistent identifiers Case studies Key points Notes 10. Future trends Introduction Preservation tools and services Preservation-as-a-Service Representation information registries Storage Training and professional bodies Certification schemes New paradigms Current and future research Digital preservation in the developing world Moving to the mainstream Conclusion Notes Appendices Creating a digital asset register Digital preservation maturity model Systems, tools and services

About the Author :
Adrian Brown is Assistant Clerk of the Records at the Parliamentary Archives and has lectured and published widely on all aspects of digital preservation. He was previously Head of Digital Preservation at the National Archives where his team won the International Digital Preservation Award in 2007.

Review :
"This book shares useful, practical knowledge in the important area of digital preservation. It provides knowledge of the process for a broad audience, effectively serving as a practical handbook for those specialists drowning in information about digital preservation and needing a clear, practical overview to help them get started. Because of the clarity and practical guidance offered, the book is valuable for the interested non-specialist too, and I would recommend it a must-read for those studying information management." "I recommend the book for archivists, librarians, digital repository managers, and any individual assigned the task of establishing a digital preservation service." "While the content is geared toward libraries, museums, and archives that are producing and maintaining digital content, this book would also be beneficial for professionals outside these fields. Each chapter is organized in a meaningful way, and the entire book flows with a natural progression through the complex stages of digital preservation. There is not a lot of technical jargon and the concepts outlined can be applied to small or large organizations that have a variety of assets. The author does an excellent job presenting complicated content in a digestible way, and offers useful case studies throughout the book. Practical Digital Preservation is an excellent book for anyone working with and producing digital content." "The book’s structure underpins its value as a practical tool. Refreshingly, it is designed to be read chapter by chapter or is easily navigable topic by topic to suit the needs of the particular reader. There’s a useful table of contents and a consistent layout of each chapter, comprising an introduction, bite-sized sections, a conclusion or next steps, a review of key points, and notes for readers wanting to know more. The substance is illustrated with useful case studies and visual aids such as process flow diagrams. I can imagine returning to this book time and again as a reference text. But the book is much more than a digital preservation primer. There is real substance and Brown has a point-of-view; he rejects aspiring to the “unobtainable, ideal of curatorial perfection”, the one-size fits all “monolithic IT systems” view of digital preservation, reminding us that preservation is an outcome that can be achieved in many ways and degrees of complexity. At the heart of Brown’s proposed strategy is use of a maturity model to identify the appropriate digital preservation implementation in each particular context; in other words he advocates taking a proportionate and risk-based approach. This must be reassuring news to his primary audience: archivists in small organizations outside the flagship national cultural memory preservation programs and for whom the gold-standard digital preservation is unattainable."