Digital Curation: Fundamentals for Success

Presenter: Kari R. Smith

March 27, 2015Milwaukee, WI

©2014 Society of American Archivists

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Curriculum and Certification Program offered by SAA:

Foundational Courses—must pass 4

Tactical and Strategic Courses—must pass 3

Tools and Services Courses—must pass 1

Transformational Courses—must pass 1

Course examinations are administered online

Digital Archives Specialist (DAS)

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■ Review definitions

■ Building Blocks for Digital Curation Programs

■ A break mid-morning and mid-afternoon

■ Lunch around 12:00

■ End by 5:00pm

Welcome and Today’s Overview

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This workshop will review the concepts, principles and practices of digital curation necessary for effectively managing digital objects, including archival records, across generations of technology.

This workshop is an foundational course. Suggested follow-on DAS courses include:

Digital Curation: Planning and Sustainable Futures Electronic Records Management Digital Archives and Digital Libraries

Course Description

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#1: Understand the nature of records in electronic form, including the functions of various storage media, the nature of system dependence, and the effect on integrity of records over time.

#2: Communicate and define requirements, roles, and responsibilities related to digital archives to a variety of partners and audiences.

#5: Plan for the integration of new tools or successive generation of emerging technologies, software and media.

#7: Provide dependable organization and service to designated communities across networks.

DAS Core Competencies Addressed

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Understand the general scope of digital curation as an area of professional activity

Explore relevant concepts for building sustainable digital curation programs

Consider the components of digital curation

Identify roles and responsibilities of a range of digital curation stakeholders

Course Goals

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“maintaining and adding value to a trusted body of digital information for future and current use”

Active management and appraisal over entire life cycle Builds upon underlying concepts of digital preservation Emphasizes opportunities for adding value through

annotation and continuing resource management Preservation is a curation activity - both are concerned

with managing digital resources with no significant (or only controlled) changes over time

Source: JISC

Definitions: Digital Curation

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+

Original DCC definition, 2004

Data Curation

Digital Preservation

Digital Curation

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“Active and on-going management of data through its life cycle of interest and usefulness to scholarship, science, and education…enables discovery, ensures quality, adds value, and provide for re-use over time”

(University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)

Predates the digital community Value-added steps by curators to enhance utility Intersection of data science (curators) and research

(producers and consumers)

Definitions: Data Curation

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“the active management of digital content over time to ensure ongoing access” (National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program Library of Congress)

Encourage quality creation by producers Document actions taken over the life of digital objects Ensure access over time Handshakes across generations of technology Proven technologies for preservation to

contemporary for access

Definitions: Digital Preservation

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“the active management and preservation of digital resources…for current and future generations of users.”

Digital Curation Centre. “What is Digital Curation?” http://www.dcc.ac.uk/about/what/

Adoption of the term “digital curation” reflects increasing confluence of several distinct communities

From Christopher A. Lee, DigCCurr Professional Institute

“[Digital] Curation…requires a commitment to undertake duties of stewardship. However it should be noted that such a commitment is influenced by a complex array of factors including social, cultural, political, organizational, financial and legal as well as technical issues.”

Patel, Coles, Giaretta, Rankin, and McIlwrath, 2009

What Is Digital Curation?

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Data Curation Data Management Digital Archiving Digital Libraries Digital Preservation Digital Stewardship

Use the language of your audienceWhat we do is as important as what it’s called

Terms Related to Digital Curation

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■ Care of physical media

■ Data Management

■ Digital archiving

■ Digital forensics & data recovery

■ Management of information systems (MIS)

■ Standards development

Activities Related to Digital Curation

Source: C. Lee

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■ Art & museum curation

■ Biocuration

■ Institutional & manuscripts archivists

■ Lawyers & auditors

■ Librarianship (esp. digital)

■ Physical science data archives

■ Social science data archives

Professions Related to Digital Curation

Source: C. Lee

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■ Cyberinfrastructure and eScience

■ Hardware & software interoperability

■ Medical information (e.g. health records, imaging, informatics)

■ Research on documents & document-centric computing

Research Related to Digital Curation

Source: C. Lee

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Digital Curation

Archival Records

Electronic Records Management

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1. Conceptual frameworks2. Organizational infrastructure3. Technological infrastructure4. Resource framework5. Policy framework6. Roles & responsibilities7. Stakeholders8. Content characteristics9. Standards10. Holistic workflows11. Strategy & planning12. Outreach & advocacy13. Ongoing evaluation

Building Blocks for Digital Curation Programs

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Community Documents and Standards

Models DPOE (Digital Preservation Outreach and Education) Electronic Records Lifecycle Specification (ERLS) DCC Curation Lifecycle Model Digital Preservation Three-legged Stool

(Kenney and McGovern, 2003)

Standards Trusted Digital Repositories 2002 (TDR) Open Archival Information System (OAIS) Reference Model ISO Trustworthy Digital Repositories Audit and Certification Producer-Archives Interface Methodology Abstract

Standard (PAIMAS)

1. Conceptual Frameworks

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Identify the types of digital content you have Select the portion of your content to be preserved Store your selected content for the long term Protect your content every day & in emergencies Manage content across time & technologies Provide access to your digital content over time

Digital Preservation Outreach and Education (DPOE) Model

20Source: Robek et al., 1995 [reproduced Koiallka, 2003.]

Electronic Records Lifecycle Specification (ERLS)

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DCC’s Digital Curation Lifecycle Model

http://www.dcc.ac.uk/docs/publications/DCCLifecycle.pdf

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(how?)

(what?)

(how much?)

Adapted from: Kenney and McGovern, 2003

(how?)

(what?)

(how much?)

DPM Workshop’s Three-legged Stool

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Best framework is 2002 Trusted Digital Repositories

Best reflected in:o mission o policy development and implementationo long-term planningo institutional commitmento participation by Producers and Consumers

2. Organizational Infrastructure

Adapted from: Kenney and McGovern, 2003

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OAIS Compliance Administrative Responsibility Organizational Viability Financial Sustainability Technological and Procedural Suitability System Security Procedural Accountability

Attributes of a TDR

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Most comprehensive framework: Open Archival Information System

OAIS is a combination of: hardware and software packaging and re-packaging network, security, and services functions and workflow procedures, protocols, documentation technical and curation skills

3.Technological Infrastructure

Adapted from: Kenney and McGovern, 2003

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OAIS Reference Model (high level)

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■ Archivematicahttp://archivematica.org/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page

■ ArchivesSpace

http://archivesspace.net■ BitCurator

http://www.bitcurator.net■ TRAC review self-assessment tool (www.dpworkshop.org)■ DRAMBORA

http://www.repositoryaudit.eu/■ Duke Data Accessioner

http://coptr.digipres.org/Duke_Data_Accessioner■ POWRR, Preserving (Digital) Objects With Restricted Resources

http://digitalpowrr.niu.edu/tool-grid/

Current Tools (examples)

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Several are in development LIFE and LIFE2 The Keeping Research Data Safe (KRDS)

Benefits Analysis Toolkit 4C Project

Includes: Staff, training, and development Technology and related developments Outreach and designated community support Other digital object curation management

4. Resources Framework

$$$$

Adapted from: Kenney and McGovern, 2003

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5. Digital Curation Policy Framework

■ A policy framework to express the three-legged stool for your organization

Links to other policy documents and standards

Includes local definition of terms

Includes roles and responsibilities

And other components

Adapted from: Kenney and McGovern, 2003

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Builds Digital Curation Team – three legs Defines institutional commitment Demonstrates compliance – requirements Manages expectations – stakeholders Defines issues and challenges Raises awareness – timing Identifies roles and responsibilities

Benefits of Developing Policies

courtesy DPM workshop

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Archival Storage■ Collection Development■ IP and Rights■ Preservation Planning ■ Records Management Service Level Agreements Submission Agreements Technical Infrastructure

IT Environment Disaster Recovery Preparedness Discovery and Use

Use Agreements

Examples of Policy Areas

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Effective collaboration requires the definition of roles Define the Roles Appoint people to the roles Roles might include more than one person One person might have many roles

Role does not equal Job Description

Be Clear of your Role during different phases of Digital Curation

6. Roles and Responsibilities

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Capabilities for Digital Curation Roles

Address legal issues

Balance risks and costs

Build/maintain registries

Collaborate

Define good practice

Design object packages

Develop competencies

Develop polices

Develop programs

Develop workflows

Devise strategies

Enable interoperability

Identify dependencies

Invest in solutions

Investigate problems

Manage metadata

Manage repositories

Monitor technology

Promulgate standards

Raise awareness

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Funders and broader community supporters

Advocates

Strategic decision makers

Organizational direction setters

High-level Administrators

Users of Content

Creators of Content

7. Stakeholders

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Education Training, Training, and More Training In-Class and Online Modules Annual Recertification System template data entry practicum

Community of Users/Liaisons Members only spaces Mailing lists Listservs Wikis Blogs Social media

Raising Awareness

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Message to the Masses

PublicationsAnnual Reports

Brochures

Flyers

FAQs

Presentations

Press Releases

Sales brochures

Talking points

White papers

Recruit AdvocatesBest practices

End user case studies

Enlist stakeholders

Satisfied content creators

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Digital Objects have Bit streams Creators Intellectual content Rights Technical specs Uses Associated metadata (descriptive, technical,

administrative, structural, preservation)

8. Characteristics of Content

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9. Standards (Relevant Examples) PREMIS: Preservation Metadata Implementation Strategies, 2005

plus updates TRAC: Trustworthy Repositories Audit and Certification, 2007 and

ISO 16363: 201210. Holistic workflows11. Strategy & planning

Preservation planning, self-assessment, external audits, and more12. Outreach & advocacy

You will need to engage a variety of stakeholders at various points in the digital content lifecycle with various clear and terse messages

13. Ongoing evaluation Assessment is the basis of self-understanding and

improvement

Building Blocks 9-13

WRAP-UP

PLANS FOR TOMORROWA positive attitude toward change and a flexible response structure