Last fall, I had the honor of being selected as one of 24 participants from across the country to be trained at the Library of Congress, in the inaugural Digital Preservation and Outreach Education (DPOE) Train-the-trainer initiative.
Those to be trained were selected from across the US, and asked to pass on the content of the training materials to others. We’re trying to build a network…
As a result, I’m giving a series of 3 1-hour webinars on basic digital preservation, based on the DPOE training, for the Association of Southeastern Research Libraries (ASERL). I just found out
that these webinars are open to anyone interested, for free. If you’d like to attend, just register and show up. Feel free to share this with anyone you think might want to be there! The target audience is libraries and other cultural heritage institutions who have digital content, but who don’t really know where to start in managing it for long-term access.
Here’s the scoop:
Webinar Series: Introduction to Digital Preservation (3 sessions)
Session #1 – Identifying & Selecting Content | February 7, 11am ET – 12n ET
The first step in preparing for digital preservation is to identify all the potential content that may warrant this attention. This could include born-digital content arriving in special collections and archives, material digitized on site for online access, and content created by students, faculty, and researchers. This process will inform an organization about the categories of content and types of files it might need / want to preserve, as well as the challenges that might be encountered in doing so.
Once the possible scope of digital content is identified, the portion of digital content an organization is responsible for preserving needs to be specified. This process of selection may be known as appraisal in archives. It may be necessary to develop criteria for prioritizing selection, which can be a labor?intensive and resource?intensive process. Knowing the scope of digital content to be preserved, including the possible growth over time, is an important factor in developing an appropriate approach for managing digital content over time.
Session #2 – Considerations for Storage & Protection of Content |
February 14, 11am ET – 12n ET
Digital content that has been selected for preservation needs to be stored in ways that align with good practice. It’s necessary to consider the file formats that are best suited for archiving, the requirements for processing, and the metadata needed to make use of this content in the future. Organizations also need storage management policies and procedures that ensure multiple copies in at least two locations. Once stored, content needs protection. This includes everyday concerns (such as who has access and whether files have changed), as well as emergency contingencies (business continuity and disaster planning). We will address how to manage roles and responsibilities for physical and virtual access to digital content throughout its life cycle.
Session #3 – Managing Content & Access Over Time | February 21, 11am ET – 12n ET
Long-term access is the purpose of digital preservation – organizations preserve content to be able to make it available as needed or desired over time. In order to provide this access, we need to consider the concepts, roles, and challenges involved. Furthermore, managing digital content for the long term requires program planning, implementation, and sustainability. A core component of this is preservation planning, which includes organizational aspects (e.g., policy development, training, legal issues) and resources (e.g., designated funding and sustainability). This discussion will highlight some steps organizations can take to make long?term access to digital content more possible to achieve.
These webinars will be delivered using the GoToMeeting software — but you do NOT need to have a GoToMeeting account to view the webinar.
Here’s the GoToMeeting support page that lists the system requirements for attending.
Hope this helps, and hope to virtually “see” you soon!