Advertisement

Digital Preservation: A Time Bomb for Digital Libraries

  • Margaret Hedstrom
  • Margaret Hedstrom
    • 1
  1. 1.School of InformationUniversity of MichiganAnn ArborU.S.A
Article

Abstract

The difficulty and expense of preserving digital information is a potential impediment to digital library development. Preservation of traditional materials became more successful and systematic after libraries and archives integrated preservation into overall planning and resource allocation. Digital preservation is largely experimental and replete with the risks associated with untested methods. Digital preservation strategies are shaped by the needs and constraints of repositories with little consideration for the requirements of current and future users of digital scholarly resources. This article discusses the present state of digital preservation, articulates requirements of both users and custodians, and suggests research needs in storage media, migration, conversion, and overall management strategies. Additional research in these areas would help developers of digital libraries and other institutions with preservation responsibilities to integrate long-term preservation into program planning, administration, system architectures, and resource allocation.

Keywords

Digital Library Storage Medium Software Product Line Digital Information Mass Storage 
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in to check access.

References

  1. Ackerman, Mark S. and Roy T. Fielding. "Collection Maintenance in the Digital Library." <http://csdl.tamu.edu/DL95> (1995).Google Scholar
  2. Bearman, David and Ken Sochats. "Metadata Requirements for Evidence." <www.lis.pitt.edu/ ~nhprc/meta96.html> (1995).Google Scholar
  3. Bulletin of the American Society for Information Science. "Special Issue on Electronic Systems and Records Management in the Information Age." 23(5) (June/July 1997).Google Scholar
  4. Conway, Paul. Preservation in the Ditigal World. Washington, D.C.: Commission on Preservation and Access, 1996.Google Scholar
  5. Conway, Paul. "Digitizing Preservation." Library Journal, (February 1, 1994), 42–45.Google Scholar
  6. Conway, Paul. "Archival Preservation in a Nationwide Context." American Archivist, 53(2) (1990), 204–222.Google Scholar
  7. Eaton, Fynnette L. "The National Archives and Electronic Records for Preservation." In Preservation of Electronic Formats: Electronic Formats for Preservation. Ed. Janice Mohlhenrich. Ft. Atkinson, WI: Highsmith Press, 1993}, pp. 41–Google Scholar
  8. Giguere, Mark D. "Electronic Document Description Standards: A Technical Feasibility of Their Use in the Augmentation of the Microform Preservation of Contextual Cues Embedded in Structured Electronic Documents During Successive Digital/Analog/Digital Reformatting." Ph.D. dissertation, School of Information Science and Policy Studies, State University of New York at Albany, 1995.Google Scholar
  9. Gould, Constance. Information Needs in the Humanities: An Assessment. Stanford, CA: The Research Libraries Group, 1988.Google Scholar
  10. Graham, Peter S. "Requirements for the Digital Research Library." College and University Research Libraries, 56(4) (July 1995), 331–339.Google Scholar
  11. Kahle, Brewster. "Preserving the Internet." Scientific American, 276 (March 1997), 82–83. "LANL Ion Beam Storage Holds 180 Times More Info than CDROMS." Science and Engineering News, June 23, 1995, downloaded from HPCwire and redistributed to <PACSHUPVM1. EDU>.Google Scholar
  12. Lesk, Michael. Preservation of New Technology: A Report of the Technology Assessment Advisory Committee to the Commission on Preservation and Access. Washington, D.C., Commission on Preservation and Access, 1992.Google Scholar
  13. Levy, David M. and Catherine C. Marshall. "Going Digital: A Look at Assumptions Underlying Digital Libraries." Communications of the ACM, 58(4) (1995), 77–84.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  14. Lynch, Clifford. "The Integrity of Digital Information: Mechanics and Definitional Issues." Journal of the American Society for Information Science, 45(10) (1994), 737–744.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  15. Michelson, Avra and Jeff Rothenberg. "Scholarly Communications and Information Technology: Exploring the Impact of Changes in the Research Process on Archives." American Archivist, 55(2) (1992), 236–315.Google Scholar
  16. O'Toole, James M. "On the Idea of Permanence." American Archivist, 52(1) (1989), 10–25. "Pilot Accessioning Projects Summary Report." University of the State of New York, State Education Department, State Archives and Records Administration. Building Partnerships for Electronic Recordkeeping: The Final Report and Working Papers of the Building Partnerships Project. Albany, NY, 1995. <http://unix6.nysed.gov/pubs/build.htm>. The Preservation of Archival Materials. Washington, D.C.: Commission on Preservation and Access, 1993. Preserving Digital Information: Report of the Task Force on Archiving Digtal Information. Report commissioned by the Commission on Preservation and Access and The Research Libraries Group, Washington, D.C.: Commission on Preservation and Access, May 1, 1996. Preserving The Intellectual Heritage: A Report of The Bellagio Conference. Washington, D.C.: The Commission on Preservation and Access, 1993.Google Scholar
  17. Rothenberg, Jeff. "Ensuring the Longevity of Digital Documents." Scientific American, 272(1) (1995), 24–29. U.S. National Archives and Records Administration. Digital Imaging and Optical Digital Disk Storage Systems: Long-Term Access Strategies for Federal Agencies. Technical Information Paper No. 12. National Technical Information Service, Washington, D.C., 1994. <gopher://gopher. nara.gov:70/11/managers/archival/papers/postscri>.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  18. Van Bogart, John W.C. Magnetic Tape Storage and Handling: A Guide for Libraries and Archives, Washington, D.C.: Commission on Preservation and Access and the National Media Laboratory, 1995.Google Scholar

Copyright information

© Kluwer Academic Publishers 1997

Personalised recommendations

Digital Preservation: A Time Bomb for Digital Libraries
Buy options

We use cookies to personalise content and ads, to provide social media features and to analyse our traffic. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners in accordance with our Privacy Statement. You can manage your preferences in Manage Cookies.

Close
OK
Manage Cookies