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1 – 10 of over 11000Christoph Becker, Luis Faria and Kresimir Duretec
Preservation environments such as repositories need scalable and context-aware preservation planning and monitoring capabilities to ensure continued accessibility of content over…
Abstract
Purpose
Preservation environments such as repositories need scalable and context-aware preservation planning and monitoring capabilities to ensure continued accessibility of content over time. This article identifies a number of gaps in the systems and mechanisms currently available and presents a new, innovative architecture for scalable decision-making and control in such environments.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper illustrates the state of the art in preservation planning and monitoring, highlights the key challenges faced by repositories to provide scalable decision-making and monitoring facilities, and presents the contributions of the SCAPE Planning and Watch suite to provide such capabilities.
Findings
The presented architecture makes preservation planning and monitoring context-aware through a semantic representation of key organizational factors, and integrates this with a business intelligence system that collects and reasons upon preservation-relevant information.
Research limitations/implications
The architecture has been implemented in the SCAPE Planning and Watch suite. Integration with repositories and external information sources provide powerful preservation capabilities that can be freely integrated with virtually any repository.
Practical implications
The open nature of the software suite enables stewardship organizations to integrate the components with their own preservation environments and to contribute to the ongoing improvement of the systems.
Originality/value
The paper reports on innovative research and development to provide preservation capabilities. The results enable proactive, continuous preservation management through a context-aware planning and monitoring cycle integrated with operational systems.
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Christoph Becker, Luis Faria and Kresimir Duretec
This article aims to evaluate a new architecture for scalable decision-making and control in preservation environments for its ability to address five key goals: scalable content…
Abstract
Purpose
This article aims to evaluate a new architecture for scalable decision-making and control in preservation environments for its ability to address five key goals: scalable content profiling; monitoring of compliance, risks and opportunities; efficient creation of trustworthy plans; context awareness; and loosely coupled preservation ecosystems. Scalable decision support and business intelligence capabilities are required to effectively secure content over time.
Design/methodology/approach
We conduct a systematic evaluation of the contributions of the SCAPE Planning and Watch suite to provide effective and scalable decision support capabilities. We discuss the quantitative and qualitative evaluation of advancing the state of art and report on a case study with a national library.
Findings
The system provides substantial capabilities for semi-automated, scalable decision-making and control of preservation functions in repositories. Well-defined interfaces allow a flexible integration with diverse institutional environments. The free and open nature of the tool suite further encourages global take-up in the repository communities.
Research limitations/implications
The article discusses a number of bottlenecks and factors limiting the real-world scalability of preservation environments. This includes data-intensive processing of large volumes of information, automated quality assurance for preservation actions, and the element of human decision-making. We outline open issues and future work.
Practical implications
The open nature of the software suite enables stewardship organizations to integrate the components with their own preservation environments and to contribute to the ongoing improvement of the systems.
Originality/value
The paper reports on innovative research and development to provide preservation capabilities. The results of the assessment demonstrate how the system advances the control of digital preservation operations from ad hoc decision-making to proactive, continuous preservation management, through a context-aware planning and monitoring cycle integrated with operational systems.
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The Library of Congress is engaged in an effort to ensure the health and sustainability of its preservation program.
Abstract
Purpose
The Library of Congress is engaged in an effort to ensure the health and sustainability of its preservation program.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper is an expanded version of a presentation Jacob Nadal and Erin Engle gave at the 7th Kuopio Conference. That presentation explained how the preservation management team re-evaluated and re-imagined its work through a series of workshops, cost studies and planning exercises. This led to a new way to respond to immediate operational requirements and adapt to agency focus across strategic planning cycles while still making progress on large-scale preservation needs.
Findings
This work led to new plans for the workforce and fiscal resources needed to maintain a rich array of options for use of the collections over the long term. This paper details the philosophy and strategy behind this approach to address financial and organizational sustainability of a large-scale preservation program.
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Sustainable values and implementation tools are now more widely included in Australian land use planning and development. Planning agreements are one instrument by which…
Abstract
Purpose
Sustainable values and implementation tools are now more widely included in Australian land use planning and development. Planning agreements are one instrument by which environmental values and preservation can be made more enduring, particularly as planning agreements run with the land. Little has been said about these agreements and the purpose of this paper is to strive to add to the body of knowledge in this area. The aim of this paper is to introduce a contextual framework for planning agreements, drawing on collaborative planning theory and practice. It also demonstrates how planning agreements can been used as a tool to preserve environmental values and principles generally, and more particularly the rich flora and fauna in the surrounding housing estate adjacent to the Royal Botanical Gardens in Cranbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper relies on a case study from the municipality of Casey located in the state of Victoria and introduces measures taken, via planning agreements between the municipality and estate developers, to preserve green values and the flora and fauna located in the surrounds of the Royal Botanical Gardens in Cranbourne.
Findings
The case study suggests that, whilst the planning agreements may have established excellent procedure and practice to preserve the flora and fauna at the botanic gardens and in its surrounds, the effectiveness of the planning agreements as an environmental preservation tool has limitations. This may be due to the lack of resources for more effective information dissemination and enforcement. Ultimately, it may have to be left to the goodwill of residents to ensure environmental protection of the botanic gardens and its surrounds is maintained.
Research limitations/implications
As the housing estate is still a young development, the case study is an exploratory approach. This leaves open the opportunity for further data to be gathered from estate residents into the effectiveness of the preservation and enforcement of the green values and principles raised in the planning agreements. There is also the opportunity to take the study further to ascertain longitudinally, how respectful original and subsequent owners are of the green values planted in the planning agreements.
Originality/value
The analysis of the case study is instructive, particularly as there is a dearth of literature on how effective planning law agreements are as an environmental preservation and sustainability tool.
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Beth Oehlerts and Shu Liu
The purpose of this paper is to provide an account of digital archiving and preservation practices and processes successfully implemented at an academic institution.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide an account of digital archiving and preservation practices and processes successfully implemented at an academic institution.
Design/methodology/approach
This case study chronicles the planning and actions taken to identify, select, package, and archive local digital assets for long‐term access and migration. It includes a literature review and offers selected resources as a starting point for other institutions investigating digital preservation tools and practices.
Findings
Digital preservation is a broad, evolving, and important facet of digital asset management, yet often overlooked by library administration and understated in library operations. Collaborative approaches should be considered in implementing digital preservation tools and processes with limited resources.
Practical implications
What is successfully in operation at CSUL may be learned by other institutions. An effective preservation plan and established workflows will give an organization the capability to maximize limited funds and staff time.
Originality/value
The majority of the current literature provides theories, technologies, conceptual models, and large‐scale collaborations, with relatively little describing needs, practices, operations, and experiences at a specific academic library. This paper will contribute to the literature by discussing digital preservation from actual experience, based on the work we perform, the needs we face, and the solutions we reach within our current environment.
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Tolulope Balogun and Trywell Kalusopa
The purpose of this study is to assess the digital preservation policies and plans for long-term digital preservation in selected repositories in South Africa, with a view to…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to assess the digital preservation policies and plans for long-term digital preservation in selected repositories in South Africa, with a view to develop a digital preservation framework for the preservation of Indigenous knowledge system (IKS) in South Africa.
Design/methodology/approach
Through the multiple case study research design, data was obtained from eight respondents in four Indigenous Knowledge Systems Documentation Centers (IKSDCs) in institutions that are part of the National Recordal Systems (NRS) initiative across four provinces in South Africa using in-depth face-to-face interviews. Data collected was also supplemented with the content analysis of several policy documents in South Africa.
Findings
The findings reveal that there are no digital preservation policies in place in the institutions, especially long-term digital preservation for IKS. However, some of the institutions are formulating policies that will include the management of IKS collected in the institutions. This study also reveals that digital curation, policy formulation and disaster preparedness plans to some extent are measures said to be in place for the digital preservation of IKS.
Research limitations/implications
This study focuses mainly on the NRS initiative in South Africa. Indigenous Knowledge (IK) related to traditional medicine, traditional plants and food are currently being digitized at the IKSDCs by IK recorders. This study will help in ensuring that the South African Government’s effort and investment in digitizing IKS and making them accessible online is not wasted. This study will help mitigate the risk of damage and alteration over time, either deliberately or in error.
Originality/value
This study fills a gap in the literature on the digitization and digital preservation of IKS from the context of the NRS project in South Africa. Very few studies have been carried out on the digital preservation of IKS in Africa. This study also proposed a framework for the digital preservation of IKS in South Africa.
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A systematic, disciplinary approach to setting preservation priorities developed at Mann Library is described. The Core Agricultural Literature project, under the direction of…
Abstract
A systematic, disciplinary approach to setting preservation priorities developed at Mann Library is described. The Core Agricultural Literature project, under the direction of Wallace C. Olsen, has identified the core historical literature in seven disciplines comprising the agricultural sciences. Specific applications and adaptations of the core literature methodology in three other biology and agriculture preservation projects are discussed. Two of the four preservation projects briefly described here have been undertaken as part of a national preservation plan for agricultural sciences literature. The application of digital technology in a national cooperative effort to preserve core historical literature of agriculture represents the culmination of Mann Library's work in developing a disciplinary approach to national preservation planning.
Paul Eden, Nancy Bell, Naomi Dungworth and Graham Matthews
Reports a British Library Research and Innovation Centre funded research project which aims to develop a method for assessing preservation needs in UK libraries and archives, and…
Abstract
Reports a British Library Research and Innovation Centre funded research project which aims to develop a method for assessing preservation needs in UK libraries and archives, and to develop the method in such a way as to facilitate an assessment of national preservation needs and priorities. Discusses what is meant by a preservation needs assessment, provides an overview of recent and ongoing preservation surveys and presents preliminary findings relating to key practical issues. Highlights the primary importance of good preparation and planning, the need to concentrate on “asking the right questions” to meet stated aims and objectives and the need to ensure that the assessment is not planned and carried out in isolation. The development of a national preservation needs assessment ‐ fundamental to the development of a UK national preservation strategy ‐ is considered in the light of these findings.
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Maja Krtalić and Damir Hasenay
This paper aims to explore a theoretical and methodological approach to preservation management in libraries, relying on the basic presumption that preservation is a complex and…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore a theoretical and methodological approach to preservation management in libraries, relying on the basic presumption that preservation is a complex and comprehensive process that involves many different and seemingly diverse aspects whose efficiency lies in preservation management.
Design/methodology approach
Using a case study of Croatia, the paper describes a methodology for exploring the general preservation management context and presents a preservation management model that comprises five key components.
Findings
The paper offers insight into preservation management issues in a specific national context.
Research limitations/implications
Although this paper focuses primarily on written heritage in libraries, it is applicable to other types of heritage and to other types of information institutions.
Practical implications
The theoretical and methodological approach presented in this paper and described in the example of Croatia can be useful for exploring similar issues in other countries. It can be expanded to other types and forms of heritage and heritage institutions.
Originality/value
The paper describes a model of organising preservation activities into an efficient and successful preservation system, and establishes a methodology for exploring diverse preservation issues on national and institutional levels.
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Conventional approaches to digital preservation posit that archives should define a Designated Community, or future user group, for whom they preserve digital information…
Abstract
Purpose
Conventional approaches to digital preservation posit that archives should define a Designated Community, or future user group, for whom they preserve digital information. Archivists can then use their knowledge of these users as a reference to help them deliver digital information that is intelligible and usable. However, this approach is challenging for archives with mandates to serve wide and diverse audiences; these archives risk undermining their efforts by focusing on the interests of a narrow user group.
Design/methodology/approach
A unique approach to this challenge was developed in the context of a project to build a digital preservation program at the Ontario Jewish Archives (OJA). It draws from previous research on this topic and is based on a combination of practical and theoretical considerations.
Findings
The approach described here replaces the reference of a Designated Community with three core components: a re-articulation of the Open Archival Information System (OAIS) mandatory responsibilities; the identification of three distinct tiers of access for digital records; and the implementation of an access portal that allows digital records to be accessed and rendered online. Together with supplemental shifts in reference points, they provide an alternative to the concept of a Designated Community in the determination of preservation requirements, the identification of significant properties, the creation of Representation Information and in the evaluation of success.
Originality/value
This article contributes a novel approach to the ongoing conversation about the Designated Community in digital preservation, its application and its limitations in an archival context.
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