Digital preservation projects: some brief case studies

Abstract

In this chapter, we present brief details of current digital preservation projects. These have been chosen to illustrate a wide range of different approaches to the preservation of divergent media, and to give a snapshot of worldwide activity in digital preservation. More details of all of these can be found on their websites. Projects are listed alphabetically. ADAPT: An Approach to Digital Archiving and Preservation Technology http://www.umiacs.umd.edu/research/adapt/index.html The main aim is ‘developing technologies for building a scalable and reliable infrastructure for the long-term access and preservation of digital assets’. Lead partner : University of Maryland Subject : Infrastructure development Country : USA UMIACS (University of Maryland Institute for Advanced Computer Studies) runs the ADAPT (Approach to Digital Archiving and Preservation Technology) project. Partners include the San Diego Supercomputer Center, George Mason University, the University of New Hampshire and Fujitsu Laboratories of America. Recognizing the different access and maintenance requirements of scientific, business, cultural and governmental data storage and retrieval – ranging from near-continuous access, updating and analysis to restricted and sporadic archive availability – the ADAPT infrastructure is intended to provide a powerful, adaptable tool to manage and preserve digital objects. Its three-layer approach to data storage, manipulation, access and preservation is designed to enable maximum flexibility and adaptability to changing requirements and technologies. Metadata for complex, often highly structured material needs to be detailed and must capture crucial features of the digital object, including behavioural information about lifecycle management and preservation – content, structure, context, preservation, presentation. ADAPT uses the Open Archival Information System (OAIS) reference framework, including overall terminology. Secure collaboration is central to ADAPT's development, with combinations of trusted entities and distributed archive infrastructures available. Three pilot projects operated with external partners are currently running to test digital preservation methodologies. Concerned with the preservation of NARA (National Archives and Records Administration) electronic records and geospatial scientific collections, these projects have generated papers and slides available to download.