A framework for identifying uncertainties in long-term digital preservation

With the current expansion in digital information comes an increasing need to preserve such assets. The ENSURE (Enabling knowledge Sustainability, Usability and Recovery for Economic value) pro-ject, a research project under the European Community's Seventh Framework Programme, is the par-ent project to this research area and its aim is to conduct advanced research to address the challenges of Long Term Digital Preservation (LTDP) to ensure the successful preservation, availability and ac-cessibility of preserved data in the future. Focusing on identifying uncertainties in the LTDP activities and their impact on cost and economic performance of digital preservation systems, this paper dis-cusses a framework to identify uncertainties in LTDP for business sectors interested

Migration on request, a practical technique for preservation

Maintaining a digital object in a usable state over time is a crucial aspect of digital preservation. Existing methods of preserving have many drawbacks. This paper describes advanced techniques of data migration which can be used to support preservation more accurately and cost effectively. To ensure that preserved works can be rendered on current computer systems over time, “traditional migration” has been used to convert data into current formats. As the new format becomes obsolete another conversion is performed, etcetera. Traditional migration has many inherent problems as errors during transformation propagate throughout future transformations. CAMiLEON’s software longevity principles can be applied to a migration strategy, offering improvements over traditional migration. This new approach is named “Migration on Request.” Migration on Request shifts the burden of preservation onto a single tool, which is maintained over time. Always returning to the original format enables potential errors to be significantly reduced

LIFE3: A predictive costing tool for digital collections

Predicting the costs of long-term digital preservation is a crucial yet complex task for even the largest repositories and institutions. For smaller projects and individual researchers faced with preservation requirements, the problem is even more overwhelming, as they lack the accumulated experience of the former. Yet being able to estimate future preservation costs is vital to answering a range of important questions for each. The LIFE (Life Cycle Information for E-Literature) project, which has just completed its third phase, helps institutions and researchers address these concerns, reducing the financial and preservation risks, and allowing decision makers to assess a range of options in order to achieve effective preservation while operating within financial restraints. The project is a collaboration between University College London (UCL), The British Library and the Humanities Advanced Technology and Information Institute (HATII) at the University of Glasgow. Funding has been supplied in the UK by the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) and the Research Information Network (RIN)

LIFE: Costing the digital preservation lifecycle

Having confidence in the permanence of a digital resource requires a deep understanding of the preservation activities that will need to be performed throughout its lifetime, and an ability to plan and resource for those activities. The LIFE (Lifecycle Information for E-Literature) Project1 has advanced understanding of the short and long-term costs in this complex area, facilitating better planning, comparison and evaluation of digital lifecycles. The LIFE Project created a digital lifecycle model based on previous work undertaken on the lifecycles of paper-based materials. It applied the model to real-life collections, modelling their lifecycles and studying their constituent processes. The results were then used to estimate the costs of each element of the digital lifecycle. Organisations can now apply this process, enabling evaluation and refinement of their existing lifecycles and facilitating more effective planning for the preservation of newly acquired content. Phase 2 of the LIFE Project began in February 2007. It is evaluating and refining the models and methodology developed in the first phase of the project and developing lifecycle costings for a range of further case studies

Training for digital preservation in the context of the European project PLANETS

This paper outlines a training programme jointly developed and organised by the Humanities Advanced Technology and Information Institute (‘HATII’) at the University of Glasgow and the British Library, in collaboration with a number of European partner institutions, on behalf of the Preservation and Long Term Access Through Networked Services (‘Planets’) project. It describes the background to the programme and the series of events which took place during the final year of the project, focussing on the feedback received from the participants, the lessons learned from the implementation of the events, and the perceived long-term impact of the programme on future digital preservation training activities

Digital forensics formats: seeking a digital preservation storage format for web archiving

In this paper we discuss archival storage formats from the point of view of digital curation and preservation. Considering established approaches to data management as our jumping off point, we selected seven format attributes which are core to the long term accessibility of digital materials. These we have labeled core preservation attributes. These attributes are then used as evaluation criteria to compare file formats belonging to five common categories: formats for archiving selected content (e.g. tar, WARC), disk image formats that capture data for recovery or installation (partimage, dd raw image), these two types combined with a selected compression algorithm (e.g. tar+gzip), formats that combine packing and compression (e.g. 7-zip), and forensic file formats for data analysis in criminal investigations (e.g. aff, Advanced Forensic File format). We present a general discussion of the file format landscape in terms of the attributes we discuss, and make a direct comparison between the three most promising archival formats: tar, WARC, and aff. We conclude by suggesting the next steps to take the research forward and to validate the observations we have made

Architectural and urban heritage in the digital age: dilemmas of authenticity, originality and reproduction

The archaeology of our built heritage is centred on the understanding of human experiences, rituals and social history that add meaningful narratives to physical fabric, structures and artefacts. The meaning of the building in the collective memory is intrinsically attached to the process by which it was produced and the manner with which it endured a series of critical socio-cultural change. Whilst we cannot live in the past, engaging with historic buildings or walking through traditional urban fabric and alleyways becomes an essential asset of the contemporary urban experience. This paper interrogates the dilemmas of authenticity, originality and legitimacy of the preservation of architectural and urban heritage through digital and virtual technologies. It addresses examples of historic buildings that have changed character, functions or got destroyed during times of wars and conflict. With advanced techniques of recording historic buildings through digital and virtual environments taking a leading role in modern preservation, integrating architectural heritage into the creative economy and income generating activities is critical to their survival in the digital age

Training for digital preservation in the context of the European project PLANETS

This paper outlines a training programme jointly developed and organised by the Humanities Advanced Technology and Information Institute (‘HATII’) at the University of Glasgow and the British Library, in collaboration with a number of European partner institutions, on behalf of the Preservation and Long Term Access Through Networked Services (‘Planets’) project. It describes the background to the programme and the series of events which took place during the final year of the project, focussing on the feedback received from the participants, the lessons learned from the implementation of the events, and the perceived long-term impact of the programme on future digital preservation training activities

Digital Repository as Instrument for Knowledge Management

Abstract. In the modern technologically advanced world, implicit knowledge, but also certain manifestations of tacit knowledge, is accumulated primarily in digital form, increasing the dependence of Knowledge Management (KM) on tools and specifically on digital content management platforms and repositories. The latter, powered by subject classification system such as a thesaurus or an ontology, can form a complete Knowledge Organization System (KOS). The purpose of this paper is to describe and (re)define the role of these systems as an integral part of KM, and present an example of such a KOS, including its major role in knowledge preservation

Laryngeal Preservation Strategies in Locally Advanced Laryngeal and Hypopharyngeal Cancers.

For long, the treatment of locoregionally advanced laryngeal and hypopharyngeal squamous cell cancers (SCC) consisted of either total laryngectomy (TL) or definitive radiotherapy (RT). The development of induction cisplatin plus 5-fluorouracil (PF) and the correlation between chemosensitivity and radiosensitivity in previously untreated patients opened a new era of treatment aiming at laryngeal preservation (LP). The fundamental concept was to employ induction PF in order to select patients for subsequent treatment with either TL or RT according to tumor response to PF. The first two trials (VALGSG for laryngeal SCC and EORTC 24891 for hypopharyngeal SCC) concluded that such an approach could preserve nearly 60% of larynx without deleterious impact on survival. The EORTC 24954 trial compared 4 cycles of induction PF followed by RT in good responders vs. alternating PF-RT in laryngeal and hypopharyngeal SCC. There was no significant difference in 5-year overall survival with a functional larynx between the two arms (31 vs. 35%). The GORTEC 2000-01 trial compared induction PF to induction PF plus docetaxel (TPF) both followed by RT in good responders in larynx and hypopharynx SCC. The 5-year LP was significantly higher in the TPF arm (60 vs. 39%) but without a difference in survival. The RTOG 91-11 trial compared induction PF followed by RT in good responders vs. concurrent chemoradiotherapy (chemo-RT) vs. RT alone in laryngeal SCC. There was no significant difference in 5-year laryngectomy-free survival between the patients treated with induction chemotherapy (44%) vs. those treated with chemo-RT (47%), both being superior to RT alone (34%). At 5 years, LP was superior with chemo-RT: 84 vs. 71% with induction PF. Two phase II trials explored the role of cetuximab (E) in LP in laryngeal and hypopharyngeal SCC. The TREMPLIN trial compared RT+E or chemo-RT (RT + P) after TPF. The DeLOS-II trial compared TPE followed by RT+E vs. TP followed by RT. However, these trials failed to indicate an advantage for the incorporation of E in the treatment paradigm. To date, two approaches for LP have been validated: induction TPF followed by RT for laryngeal and hypopharyngeal SCC and concurrent chemo-RT for laryngeal SCC. An ongoing trial (SALTORL) is comparing these two approaches, induction TPF and chemo-RT, in laryngeal/ hypopharyngeal SCC