Digital Preservation Management: Implementing Short-term strategies for Long-term problems

Introduction

Although technology is a key element in digital preservation, we believe it isn't the greatest inhibitor—the lack of organizational will and way is. Despite the increasing evidence documenting the fragility and ubiquity of digital content, cultural repositories have been slow to respond to the need to safeguard digital heritage materials.

We developed this tutorial and workshop of the same name to address this notable lack of institutional response. Using the entwined themes of the requisite organizational and technological infrastructure and dedicated resources, we will address the establishment of a viable digital preservation program. At the core of the tutorial and workshop is an integrated model that combines the organizational context, technological implementation, and requisite resources.

The tutorial can stand on its own, but it has been designed to complement the workshop, which explores the issues introduced by the tutorial in great detail and helps participants design a viable digital preservation program for their particular institutional setting. The tutorial will introduce you to the basic tenets of digital preservation. It is particularly geared toward librarians, archivists, curators, managers, and technical specialists.

You will find here definitions, key concepts, practical advice, exercises, and up-to-date references. We also want you to have some fun, so be sure to visit the Digital Technology and Preservation Timeline and the Chamber of Horrors. Note the interesting facts and quick tips along the way designed to influence your administration and wow your friends. At the end of the tutorial, you should have an overview of digital preservation issues and priorities, be ready to explore the additional readings and the literature more broadly, and be prepared for the workshop.

Acknowledgements

Support for this tutorial comes from the National Endowment for the Humanities. The tutorial was developed by Cornell University Library and is now hosted and maintained by the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR). No part of this tutorial may be reproduced or transcribed in any form excepting for personal research use without prior written permission of ICPSR acting for Cornell University Library. Requests for reproduction should be directed to Nancy McGovern.

(The Digital Preservation Logo Digital Preservation logo is used with kind permission from the Research Libraries Group.)

Development Team
Content Prepared by:
Anne R. Kenney, Associate University Librarian
Nancy Y. McGovern, Assistant Director, Research Department & Digital Preservation Officer
Richard Entlich, Digital Projects Librarian
William R. Kehoe, Digital Library Programmer/Analyst
Erica Olsen, Digital Research Fellow
Ellie Buckley, Digital Research Specialist

Original Graphic Design & Web Implementation by:
Carla DeMello, Design Coordinator
Erica Olsen, Digital Research Fellow
Ellie Buckley, Digital Research Specialist

Hosted and Maintained at ICPSR by:
Nancy Y. McGovern, Digital Preservation Officer
Courtney Egan, Digital Preservation Assistant
Anne Thomason, Digital Preservation Assistant
Wendi Fornoff and Justin Todd, Web Administration

French Language Version Translation by:
Canadian Heritage Information Network. Translated and adapted into French by Benoît Thouin, certified translator (Canada), TETRACOMM, Inc.

Development Notes

Last complete revision December 2007.
All URLs and internal links valid as of December 2007.

December 2007
>> Minor revisions to entire tutorial

April 2006
>> French language version released

April 2005
>> Major revisions to Section 3, 4, 5 (Legal)
>> Timeline updated
>> Resources added

November 2004
>> Section 6 (Special Resources)
>> Minor revisions

Summer 2004
>> Links updated
>> Timeline updated
>> Minor revisions

December 2003
>>
External review
>> Major revisions
>> Tutorial public launch

Summer 2003
>>
Tutorial internal beta launch

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Timeline Terminology Chamber of Horrors Foundation Documents Challenges Program Elements home Digital Preservation Management: All Resources