A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk

UKOLN is supported by:

Digital preservation (exercise)

Michael DayResearch and Development Team Leader

UKOLN, University of Bath

MSc Lecture, UWE, Bristol, 10 March 2010

                                                             

A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk

1. Pick a resource type:

• For example:– Institutional Web site– Blog– Digital photographs– PDF report– Medical images (e.g. X-rays, CT scans)– Audio files (e.g. MP3 files) – Multimedia-based artwork– Presentation slides (e.g. MS PPT)– Email– Research datasets– Facebook page

                                                             

A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk

2. Explore information needs

• Information needs in fifty years time:– Files have been found on a neglected server; need to work out

whether they are worth preserving and what migration path/s to follow

– Ask what information users in 2060 will need in order to use, understand and interpret the resource correctly?

• Use the categories:– Content– Context– Appearance (e.g., colour, layout)– Structure (e.g., pagination, sections)– Behaviour (e.g., interactivity, functionality)– Technical characteristics (e.g., software dependencies)

                                                             

A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk

3. Ranking and summing-up

• Ranking:– Attempt to rank the importance of the characteristics

identified– For example, for a Blog, the content in the form of dated

postings may be more important than its appearance within Wordpress or Blogger

• Short summary:– Top three characteristics of the chosen resource type

• Discussion

                                                             

A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk

Any Final Questions?

                                                             

A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk

Thank You!