put away ... and not forgotten
DESCRIPTION
Presentation delivered by Ricc Ferrante, Smithsonian Institution Archives' Information Technology Archivist & Electronic Records Program Director, at the Smithsonian Archives Fair on October 22, 2010 in Washington, DC. The basic principles of digital archives and preservation applicable to both personal collections and organizational ones.TRANSCRIPT
Riccardo Ferrante
Smithsonian Institution Archives
Smithsonian Institution Archives FairOctober, 2010
Put Away…
And Not Forgotten
The institutional memory of a unique American cultural resource and a steward of the national collections. SIA was established to ensure institutional accountability and enhance public appreciation of a great national treasure and the activities of the people associated with it.
[Neg.# 7004/b44f10/85-11427_0] [Neg.# SIA2009-0709]Paleontologist Secretary Charles D. Walcott Ornithologist Roxie Collie S.
Laybourne
Serves scholars, the Smithsonian community, and the general public, offering a range of reference, research, and records services.
SI Archives is ….
Our experience with born-digital and digitized material• 1982 – Received digital records• 2001 – Preservation of digital records began• 2003 – websites, preservation tools and techniques• 2008 – email, preservation tools and techniques• Worked to establish standards and best practices
• Digital archives includes over 30 Terabytes• Documents• Photographs and images • Video and Audio• Databases• Websites• Email• Computer-aided designs• ...
Adhesive label removed recording layer from 10 year old CD
Equipment + Software
“Horror” Stories
ObsolescenceA digital object becomes obsolete when it can no
longer be maintained and rendered in an authentic and reliable manner, with integrity and completeness.
Risk factors Physical storage media Individual file formats Applications, operating systems, hardware technology Necessary skill sets for continued access Financial sustainability
Too many varieties, precluding the ability to procure and sustain preservation environments
Digital Fragility
OrganizeReduce or eliminate risk factorsPreserveUse
Effective Preservation Strategies
Organize What you have, where it’s stored, and how to
get to itDraw boundaries
around your collections Give the items meaningful names using
a consistent naming convention
Effective Preservation Strategies
Organize Reduce or eliminate risk factors
Virus scans and format verificationBackups
Long-lived file format types Reliable storage media Documentation
Monitor Inventory Inspection Intervention
Effective Preservation Strategies
Organize Reduce or eliminate risk factorsPreserve
Select long-lived file formatsStandards-based, non-proprietaryAccessible by multiple software programs, operating
systemsSuitable for the object type
Examples Photos: TIFF - 6,000 pixels across, 24-bit RGB,
uncompressedDocuments: PDF Video: Motion JPEG and MPEG-2 4:2:2
Effective Preservation Strategies
OrganizeReduce or eliminate risk factorsPreserve
Reliable storage mediaPaper?Optical disksInternal or external hard drivesFlash drivesOr a combination?
DocumentationKeep records of what you have done with which
objectsEssential for remembering what it is and choosing the
next preservation step
Effective Preservation Strategies
OrganizeReduce or eliminate risk factorsPreserveUse
Copies – not mastersOther file formats acceptable
Effective Preservation Strategies
Personal CollectionsOrganizeReduce or eliminate risk factorsPreserveUse
Organizational Archives
Effective Preservation Strategies
SIA’s Recent Activities
• ~ 20% of annual accessions include digital records• Some accessions contain only digital records• Digitization• Recent donation of Hussey photographs to NMAH
Online Catalog and Finding Aids to our Collections http://www.siarchives.si.edu/research/main_collectionaid.html
The Web Main website - http://siarchives.si.edu Photography Initiative – http://photography.si.edu Images Gallery – http://smithsonianimages.si.edu
And social media including Flickr, YouTube, and Facebook Blog – The BIGGER PICTURE – http://blog.photography.si.edu Flickr – http://www.flickr.com/photos/smithsonian/ YouTube – http://www.youtube.com/user/SIArchives Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/SmithsonianInstitutionArchives
Reference [email protected] – Photographic Services – [email protected]
Smithsonian Institution Archives
Ricc Ferrante - Director, Digital Services and IT Archivist
202-633-5906 - [email protected]
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