Digital Dark Ages to Digital Renaissance: Art of Selecting Digital Content to Preserve

1. Identify - What digital content do you have 2. Select - what portion of the content will be preserved

Sarah Rhodes, National Geographic Library Brenda J. Miller, Hartford Public Library

  • Presentation slides available after webinar will be posted on DTEAM DBlog
  • Audio presentation available in about a week
  • DPOE-Library of Congress Digital Preservation Outreach Education

Webinar will:

  1. Provide conceptual foundation for your digital program
  2. Help develop inventory to your digital content
  3. Help document your selection policies

PART 1 - Identify

  • Make informed decisions
  • Define scope
  • Digital program  requires commitment of resources
  • Whose support is needed?
  • Not all digital content will be preserved
  • Inventory content
    • Documented, useable, accessible, scalable, current, consistent, comprehensive
    • Inventory should identify
  • Format types, date of inventory, date of files- created/modified, locations
  • Identify outcomes, select a management tool and preservation actions
  • What software is needed to create inventory. Example Excel
  • Where to kept inventory and who have access
  • Who should create/update inventory
  • Team approach
  • Digital program and mission of inventory should reflect Institutional mission

PART 2 - Select

  • What portion of content will be preserved
  • Needed –Building a Team w/ these skills
    1. Interpersonal skills
    2. IT
    3. Analytical skills
  • Steps:
    1. Review inventory
    2. Document scope
    3. Be systematic
    4. Going forward is easier to preserve
    5. Contact content creators
  • Documentation- granular description, extent, use, rights, retention schedules, submission agreements, develop sustainable program, gain control of content
  • Prioritize content to preserve
  • Who should be involved at your institution
  • How would implementation be incorporated into workflows