Issues and approaches to preservation metadata

1
Issues and approaches to preservation metadata

• Michael Day
• UKOLN UK Office for Library and
• Information Networking
• University of Bath
• http//www.ukoln.ac.uk/
• m.day_at_ukoln.ac.uk

2
Issues and approaches to preservation metadata
Michael Day Joint RLG and NPO Preservation
Conference Guidelines for Digital Imaging,
University of Warwick. 28-30 September
1998 http//www.ukoln.ac.uk/events/sept-conf98/
3
Presentation Outline

• Context
• metadata
• digital preservation
• Cedars project
• Preservation metadata issues
• Some current approaches and data models

4
Background - general

• Metadata (Making of America II)
• Descriptive metadata - e.g. Dublin Core, EAD,
  MARC
• Structural metadata
• Administrative metadata
• Preservation metadata is a specialised form of
  administrative metadata

5
CURL Exemplars in Digital Archives (Cedars)

• Project funded by JISC (eLib) through the
  Consortium of University Research Libraries
  (CURL)

6
Cedars Objectives

• To promote awareness of issues
• To identify and disseminate -
• appropriate strategies for collection management
• appropriate strategies for long-term preservation
• To produce demonstrators and documentation
  (guidance)

7
Digital imaging

• Motivations
• Improving access
• Preservation (continuing access)
• Suitable for long-term preservation?
• Metadata issues
• What metadata exists already?
• How should this be associated with the image

8
Digital preservation (1)

• Technical preservation strategies
• Hardware and software conservation
• Emulation
• Migration
• All of these strategies depend upon the
  identification and collection of relevant
  metadata

9
Digital preservation (2)

• Authentication
• Intellectual preservation
• Identifiers
• Cryptographic techniques
• Rights management
• Extremely important problem that needs urgent
  solution - metadata has potential role.

10
Digital preservation (3)

• Integration with other metadata
• Resource discovery
• Existing catalogues and finding aids
• Collection Management
• Ensuring that the metadata is itself managed and
  migrated

11
Cedars metadata study

• Metadata for preservation
• Preliminary version - August 1998
• Looked at a variety of projects and initiatives
  from different sectors
• http//users.ox.ac.uk/cedars/Papers/aiw01.html

12
Metadata initiatives

• RLG Working Group on Preservation Issues of
  Metadata
• Final Report, May 1998
• Identified elements and published sample
  implementations
• http//www.rlg.org/preserv/presmeta.html

13
RLG WG elements

• Date
• Transcriber
• Producer
• Capture device
• Capture details
• Change history
• Validation key
• Encryption
• Watermark

• Resolution
• Compression
• Source
• Color
• Color management
• Color bar / Grey scale bar
• Control targets

14
Data Models

• Important -
• Open Archival Information System (OAIS)
• PANDORA
• Resource Description Framework (RDF)
• Cedars Access Issues Working Group

15
Conclusions

• Preservation metadata is important
• Need for integration of preservation metadata
  with other forms of metadata
• Cedars is attempting to study issues and develop
  demonstrators
• Also to formulate guidance for good practice

16
Web Pages

• CEDARS Pages
• http//www.leeds.ac.uk/cedars/
• UKOLN Metadata Pages
• http//www.ukoln.ac.uk/metadata/

17
UKOLN

• UKOLN is funded by the British Library Research
  and Innovation Centre (BLRIC), the Joint
  Information Systems Committee (JISC) of the UK
  Higher Education Funding Councils, as well as by
  project funding from the JISCs Electronic
  Libraries (eLib) Programme and the European
  Union. UKOLN also receives support from the
  University of Bath, where it is based.
• http//www.ukoln.ac.uk/