Digital preservation policies: A guide to their creation and management

1
Digital preservation policies A guide to their
creation and management
Alan Howell Preservation Solutions
Australia www.preservationsolutionsaustralia.com.a
u
2
Overview

• Background to digital preservation policy
• Model digital preservation policy elements
• Summary
• Microsoft PowerPoint presentation on website
  http//www.preservationsolutionsaustralia.com.au
• Full paper in publication Preserving digital
  information Challenges and solutions
  http//nla.gov.au/nla.arc-49633 soon!

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Background to digital preservation policy

• Definitions
• Policy framework
• Drivers for digital preservation policy
  development
• Benefits of having a digital preservation policy
• Provisos
• Key resources

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Digital preservation policy where are we at?

• ?
• How many people in the audience have a business
  need to keep digital resources for five years or
  more?
• Keep your hand up if you have a digital
  preservation policy?
• Remember your answer

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Definitions

• Digital preservation
• Preservation policy statement
• Preservation policy
• Preservation strategy
• Preservation procedure

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Digital preservation simple

• the processes involved in maintaining
  information and other kinds of heritage that
  exist in a digital form. (Webb, 2003 p.20)

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Digital preservation expanded

• All that needs to be done
• including technical, organisational, financial
  and cultural considerations
• to increase the likelihood
• that the intellectual content
• and/or the evidential status
• of significant digital resources
• remains usable
• and unaltered - or altered within acceptable and
  documented limits
• (various authors)

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Preservation policy statement

• A declaration by an entity (organisation, state,
  country, etc) about its role/purpose, beliefs and
  its commitment to pursue certain aims. A
  statement of management intent.
• Examples
• The National Library of Australia will
  endeavour to preserve in original or surrogate
  format all materials for which it accepts
  responsibility under the DNC. (NLA, 2001?)
• The National Archives of New Zealands main
  concern is to ensure the survival of permanently
  valuable material and thereby preserve the
  corporate memory of government. (NANZ, 1997)
• one of the worlds best in collecting,
  conserving and communicating information.
  (SLNSW, 1990)

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Preservation policy

• An authorised, formal, statement that sets out
  (among other things) what is - and as importantly
  - what is not to be preserved within an entity,
  for how long, the priorities and accountabilities
• Forms an integral part of the overall policy of
  an entity. Takes account of an entitys raison
  dêtre, philosophy, risk profile, users needs
  and its context within state, national and -
  sometimes - international frameworks
• Provides clear, high-level, long-term direction
  (over 5, 10 or more years)
• Demonstrates benefits
• Practicable, achievable and adaptable
• Regularly reviewed to remain relevant

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Preservation strategy

• The plan that sets out
• the technical, organisational and cultural
  methods and techniques to be used to preserve (or
  attempt to preserve) specific categories/classes
  or types of digital objects throughout their
  life-cycle

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Preservation procedure

• The detailed guidelines for operational
  activities to implement the strategy

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Policy framework
Authority
Collection Policy
Preservation Policy
Digital Preservation Policy
Strategy
Procedures
Plans
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Policy and risk framework
Authority
Collection Policy
Preservation Policy
Digital Preservation Policy
Strategy
Procedures
Plans
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Drivers for digital preservation policy
development

• Compliance (legislation, due diligence)
• Staking out the territory
• Business need
• Stakeholders expectations (now and in the
  future)
• Shareholder value
• RQF
• Digitising programs
• Internal effectiveness, efficiency and
  accountability
• Bringing coherence to the structural and
  technical heterogenity of the different types of
  digital materials (Erpanet, 2003 p.4)

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Benefits of having a digital preservation policy
(Erpanet, 2003 p.4)

• Developing digital preservation strategy
• Planning coherent digital preservation programs
• Ensuring and reinforcing accountability
• Demonstrating funds can and will be used
  responsibly and consistently
• Ensuring digital materials are available for
  current and future use
• Defining significant properties that need to be
  preserved for particular types of resources
• Assisting agencies develop digitising programs
• Providing a comprehensive statement on digital
  preservation
• Providing security measures that ensure the
  protection of digital materials during use

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Provisos

• Very few digital preservation policies to draw on
• Mostly in first iteration
• Mostly from cultural heritage sector - libraries
  in particular
• Other sectors and institutions have developed
  excellent policy on digital preservation but
  either not published as Policyor spread across
  number of documents (eg National Archives of
  Australia)
• My aim is a core set of common policy themes
  but recognise that organisational context and
  existence of other policy documents will drive
  the scope of specific policies
• Some institutions will want more, other
  institutions less detail
• A model policy will not suit everyone its a
  thought starter

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Key resources

• National Library of Australia 2001, Digital
  preservation policy, http//nla.gov.au/nla.arc-360
  99
• ERPANET 2003, Digital preservation policy tool,
  http//www.erpanet.org/guidance/docs/ERPANETPolicy
  Tool.pdf
• State Library of Victoria 2006, Digital
  preservation policy, http//www.slv.vic.gov.au/abo
  ut/information/policies/digitalpreservation.html
• DCC and DPC Joint Workshop?Policies for
  long-term curation and preservation, University
  of Oxford,?3 - 4 July 2006, http//www.dcc.ac.uk/e
  vents/policy-2006/

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Model digital preservation policy areas

• Document identification
• Entity, Title, Date, Unique identifier, Name and
  role of creator, Status
• Document history
• Previous versions, Change history
• Authorities for the policy
• Entity function and powers, Executive body
  authorising the policy
• Related documents
• All related policies and plans required to
  interpret the policy
• Purpose of the policy
• Audience, rationale, intended impact

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• Benefits of the policy
• technical, organisational, financial, cultural
  benefits of the policy
• Scope of the policy
• Inclusions Digital objects to be preserved and
  the rationale
• Exclusions Digital objects not addressed by the
  policy and rationale
• Priorities for digital preservation
• The digital objects that will be given preference
  and why
• Timeframes for digital preservation
• In the life-cycle of objects, when will the
  preservation decision be taken
• Which objects are intended for short, medium,
  permanent preservation
• Policy statements
• Statements on intent, beliefs, rights,
  conventions, standards (eg OAIS, RLG Trusted
  Digital Repositories checklist, PREMIS etc)

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• Definitions
• Definitions of terms used in the policy but not
  in general usage
• Roles and responsibilities
• Which role(s) is responsible for
  implementing/monitoring the policy
• Digital object creation
• Technical spec (resolution, bit-depth, data
  format, metadata, etc)
• Digital object management (DOM)
• Including carrier for incoming materials,
  preferred data formats for long-term
  preservation, reformatting rules, DOM
  metadata, disposal rules, packaging and
  documentation, obsolete formats, hardware/op.
  systems and documentation, contextural resources,
  authenticity regime, outsourcing rules

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• Digital object storage
• Rules for physical digital object storage, how
  and what digital objects will be stored online,
  nearline and offline
• Disaster preparedness
• What disasters are envisaged - how does the
  entity aim to mitigate them
• Control of digital preservation
• What control, monitoring and auditing will be
  undertaken
• Security planning
• Levels of security - how does the entity aim to
  achieve them
• Technology watch
• How will the entity get and stay informed on the
  obsolescence of data formats

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• Resourcing digital preservation
• The entitys position on the human, financial,
  physical and material resources required for
  digital preservation
• Agreements
• Under what circumstances will the entity into
  agreements with others for the long-term
  preservation of digital objects
• Research and advice
• Will the entity undertake research / provide
  advice to others
• Cooperation
• The entitys position on cooperation and
  collaboration
• Review
• How will the entity review the policy, frequency
  and role(s)

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Summary

• All organisations that create, manage or collect
  digital information or objects need a digital
  preservation policy
• A public statement that sets out the philosophy
  of an organisation concerning digital
  preservation.
• As a minimum, a digital preservation policy
  defines the types of digital objects that will
  and will not be preserved, for how long, the
  principal methods to be used, the priorities, the
  risks to be managed, how progress will be
  measured and who will be responsible for these
  preservation activities.
• A digital preservation policy includes not only
  technological specifications but also
  organisational, financial and cultural aspects
  impacting on the life cycle of digital objects.
• Developing a digital preservation policy brings
  multiple benefits
• Ultimately ensuring digital materials are
  available for current and future use

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Digital preservation policy where are we going?

• ?
• Again, raise your hand up if you have a digital
  preservation policy?
• Do any of the rest of the audience want to join
  us?

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Digital preservation policies A guide to their
creation and management
Alan Howell Preservation Solutions
Australia www.preservationsolutionsaustralia.com.a
u