Technology Challenges in Digital Preservation
Technology Challenges in Digital Preservation
Technology Challenges in Digital Preservation: Are changes in technology out pacing our libraries and archives?
Annotated by Cristy Burchartz
Definition of Project The focus of this annotated bibliography are the challenges faced in digital preservation. One of the challenges faced during preservation comes in the form of changing technology. The articles included in this bibliography will highlight various advances and their impact on digital preservation.
Annotations
Baggett, M. & Gibbs, R. (2014). Historypin and Pinterest for Digital Collections: Measuring the Impact of Image-Based Social Tools on Discovery and Access. Journal of Library Administration, 54:1, 11-22. DOI: [1]1
Baggett and Gibbs focus on the impact of social media on libraries, specifically Pinterest and History Pin which are largely imaged based tools. They explain their methodology and use literature to explain how they reached their conclusions and formed their opinions on the benefits of the use of social media as a digital archive. To support this, they include information on the usage of History Pin, Pinterest, and digital collections in libraries. It was found that collections on History Pin were accessed more than those found on a libraries website. In contrast, they were unable to track the number of times collections were accessed on Pinterest because of the lack of usage tracking. They concluded that History Pin and Pinterest can be used as a tool of access and discovery but not as long-term archival substitutes.
Conway, P. (2010) Preservation in the Age of Google: Digitization, Digital Preservation, and Dilemmas," The Library Quarterly, 80(1), 61-79. DOI: [2]
The article uses the 1966 flooding of the Arno River in Florence, Italy as an example of what motivated the move towards conservation and gives a broad definition of what the differences between digitization for preservation and digital preservation. Despite the inclusion of “the Age of Google” in the title very little is mentioned about Google’s role in digital preservation but there are multiple suggestions as to how libraries and archives can better prepare themselves for the digital environment.
Factor, M., Henis, E., Naor, D., Rabinovici-Cohen, S., Reshef, P., Ronen, S., Michetti, G., & Guercio, M. (n.d.). Authenticity and Provenance in Long Term Digital Preservation: Modeling and Implementation in Preservation Aware Storage. IBM Research Lab in Haifa, Israel and University of Urbino, Italy. Retrieved from: [3]
This article looks at the importance of provenance and storage surrounding digital objects. Using ISO standards, specifically OAIS (Open Archival Information System), to create a preservation system that fit their needs. Admitting that it is hard to verify the authenticity of a digital object, especially when digital objects are exchanged between users. To overcome the issue of validating authenticity they recommend an authentic protocol and recommendations of ways to authenticate records have been included. Further, there are suggested ways to preserve the provenance of the data such as encapsulating the Archival Information Package (AIP). b
Hedstrom, M. & Montgomery, S. (1998) Digital Preservation Needs and Requirements in RLG Member Institutions: A study commissioned by the Research Libraries Group. The Research Libraries Group. Retrieved from: [4]
Hedstrom and Montgomery provide a comprehensive report regarding the need and requirements surrounding digital preservation. They provide graphs and appendices that provide statistical data from questions surrounding policies, holdings, methods and formats of storage, knowledge and training needs, and service and training needs for the future. Some concerns raised concern the obsolesces of technology, the lack of resources and planning, and personnel concerns. They conclude with recommendations that libraries and archives can implement to improve their digital programs.
Hirtle, P.B. (2002). The impact of digitization on special collections in libraries. Libraries & Culture, 37(1), 42-52. DOI: [5]
This article discusses the benefits of digitizing special collections that can be found in libraries and archives. Citing increased usage of materials, the ability to research materials that were previously unavailable for research due to a variety of reasons mainly their location, and the attraction of new users and how these new users will be accessing the material. The author focuses on the use of eReaders in various libraries around the world. Included are recommendations as to how libraries can promote their special collections, which include highlighting how each collection is unique, promote that idea that special collections are a form of museum (this ties into their uniqueness), and become a stakeholder and take an active role in the conservation of collections.
Holt, D. & Alexander, W. (2013). So you want to digitize?: Maximizing the value of a digitization project. Law Librarian Scholarship, 10. Retrieved from: [6]
This article discusses why digitizing a collection is beneficial. There are several examples of the various types of scanners used and what the advantage is of each one, to include a chart listing the advantages and disadvantages, price, size that each scanner can scan up to, type, the software it has (includes), warranty, and post-processing software. Briefly covered are vendors who can be contracted to digitize a collection and the type of scanners they use. Recommendations are made based on projects previously done by the authors. These recommendations include the use of metadata, transcription, carefully considering how to proceed with the digitization process, and copyright issues.
Lavoie, B. & Dempsey, L. (2004). Thirteen Ways of Looking at…Digital Preservation. D-Lib Magazine, Volume 10, Number 7/8. Retrieved from: [7]
The authors of Thirteen Ways of Looking at…Digital Preservation give an overview of what they consider to be requirements for digital preservation. They consider digital preservation issue to have more to with digital stewardship rather than technical issues. Further their approach to how digital preservation should be conducted is more of a holistic approach, meaning that every aspect is interconnected and the responsibility of digital preservation is the responsibility of everyone and not just a select few.
Lee, K., Slattery, O., Lu, R., Tang, X., & McCray, V. (2002). The State of the Art and Practice in Digital Preservation. Journal of Research of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, 107(1), 93-106. [DOI: 10.6028/jres.107.01]0
This article focuses on the technical various aspects of digital preservation techniques and the methods used. Using charts (found throughout the paper) they give a visual representation of the techniques and approaches used during the preservation process. Included is a warning against technological obsolesce and degradation of media. Recommending that as technology advances “copies” be made the item before it becomes obsolete. Another possible solution could be the use of an emulator, a piece of hardware that will allow it to mimic a piece of outdated hardware. The authors include other methods that can be used to preserve digital items. They conclude with their recommendation as to what they consider to be the best preservation method.
Thibodeau, K. (2002). Overview of Technological Approaches to Digital Preservation and Challenges in Coming Years 1. Council on Library and Information Resources. Retrieved from: [8]
The focus of this article are the different forms digital objects can be found and how to preserve them. It is asserted that preserving digital objects is different than preserving physical objects because of the need to retrieve stored data and that this retrieval of data can make proving the authenticity of an object difficult. Yet other difficulties can be found when it comes to digital objects. These difficulties are found obsolesce and in compatibility with current machinery and the use of an emulator. There are solutions offered that may help avoid some of these challenges, such as the migration of a simpler version of the digital object (i.e. the progression of word to each new form) and the use of standardized forms.
Velmurugan, P. (2013). Digital Preservation: Issues and Challenges on Libraries and Information Resource Centers in India. Research Gate. Retrieved from: [9]
This article focuses on issues with digital preservation in India. The use of charts and graphs gives the user a visual representation of the topic the author is trying to explain. The article explains the difference between preservation (physical items) and digital preservation. In addition, issues that can be of concern to libraries and archives are covered. These issues include dependency on specific software and hardware, fragility of the media, and copyright and intellectual property rights. There are recommendations regarding avoiding these issues, such as migrating data to a new format and using emulation.
