CURATEcamp SAA 2012 Notes

Collaborative Doc for Drafting Notes

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qAM6cvzvrODd2EN-vWm_1IG5oxApqxS3kv6DIcttM_E/edit

Session 1: Acquisition & Appraisal

Policy

Review your policies to make sure “digital” is included. (Collection development, accessioning, donor agreements, etc.)

Resources:

Digital Preservation Online Tutorial: http://www.dpworkshop.org
Electronic Records Guidelines: http://www.records.ncdcr.gov/erecords/
Policy documents: http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/ICPSR/curation/preservation/policies
An Inter-Institutional Model for Stewardship (AIMS) whitepaper: http://www2.lib.virginia.edu/aims/whitepaper
Personal Archives Accessible in Digital Media (paradigm) workbook: http://www.paradigm.ac.uk/workbook/
Ethnographic Collections in the Archive of Folk Culture: A Contributor’s Guide: http://www.loc.gov/folklife/cg.html

Life cycle management

The role of the archivist and the issue of preservation needs to be addressed sooner in the records creation process.

Proactive collecting policy, eliminates backlog.

"Don't be the person that your successor curses, five, ten years down the road."

Collaboration

Partnering and staying a part of the discussion (data governance, IT policy/records management) as a way of knowledge management in your institutions.

American Folklife Center posted policies on ethnographic collections; engaging donors to describe so cultural context isn’t lost.

Think about value-added services that you can provide. (file plans, develop tools, guidance on embedding metadata, training) - things that will make their lives easier; consider easiest steps with most rewards

Develop file plans. Link file types to retention schedules and working workflow out of that. JISC and UK universities have roll-up file plans. Management tool that downloads into the email.

Encourage embedded metadata. Offer training through HR.

Resources:

JISC Higher Education Business Classification Scheme: http://www.jiscinfonet.ac.uk/partnerships/records-retention-he/
University of Melbourne Enterprise Classification Scheme: http://www.unimelb.edu.au/records/ECS/
Robert Gordon University Aberdeen's Business Classification Scheme: http://www4.rgu.ac.uk/rm/general/page.cfm?pge=76088
Griffith University: http://www.griffith.edu.au/ua/aa/secretariat/carms/bcs/
University of Edinburgh: http://www.recordsmanagement.ed.ac.uk/InfoStaff/RMstaff/RMprojects/PP/FileNameRules/FileNameRules.htm

Looking for resources on up-front and ongoing costs of preservation, i.e. “How much does it cost to process a terabyte?”

Resources:

Digital Preservation Online Tutorial: http://www.dpworkshop.org/dpm-eng/eng_index.html
LIFE Project (University College, London and the BL - http://www.life.ac.uk/

ACTION items:

Review your policies to make sure “digital” is included. (Collection development, accessioning procedures, donor agreements, etc.)
Share your policies on your websites, please.
Do more cost analysis & share your findings.

Session 2: Arrangement and Description

Challenges/Issues

Digital Collections

People don’t really know how to organize electronic files.
No respect des fonds the same way for electronic files.
What is the intent of archival arrangement and description?
At the aggregate level, knowing where a file falls in the collection.
Metadata
Clarifying (Record creating environment)
Digital files/ media messes with the concept of original order
Multiple versions of the same photo. Which is the presentation version?
Files and software interaction
As archivists, do we continue to focus on creating the context, or do we focus on preserving to create access to allow context to be discovered?
Producer Archive Method Interface Standard
DACS doesn’t allow to describe record keeping practices well
Messiness of files: how much organization can you get out of the filenaming ?
What tools do we need in order to apply DACS-like arrangement to electronic files? Do we WANT to apply DACS-like arrangement to electronic files?

Hybrid Collections

Adding description re: processing legacy files/media to existing
Context (representing)

Moving Towards Solutions

Reproducible Methods (Tools and Workflows)
Moving beyond file level approach
MPLP approach to arranging and describing electronic files
One approach is to create a directory printing that users can view in Excel, and thereby can manipulate and sort
- Stopgap measure (some access is better than none) but all this really provides access to is file names and extensions, which may not be all that helpful
Metadata extraction at accessioning (disk image level)
Let the computer do more of the processing.
MPLP for digitization-- Repurposing the finding aid in a digital environment so you don’t have to do item level description.
Scalability (file storage, workflow)
Object management (PIDS, Compound/single)
Setting up at start of project
Look at Vis. Resources Community
Scanning priorities
Delivery methods

Resources:

Tom Hyry and Michelle Light, “Colophons and Annotations: New Directions for the Finding Aid.” American Archivist 65(2), 2002. http://archivists.metapress.com/content/l3h27j5x8716586q/
Producer-Archive Interface Methodology Abstract Standard. Recommendation for Space Data System Practices. Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems Magenta Book, 2004. http://public.ccsds.org/publications/archive/651x0m1.pdf
Presentation from SAA 2011. Archivists’ Toolkit plugin. http://www2.archivists.org/groups/archivists-toolkitarchon-roundtable/saa-2011-annual-meeting-presentation-digital-object-workf
Metadata Deluxe has the tools, instruction, examples. Although built for photograph or scanning physical material it also extends to mass digitization. http://metadatadeluxe.pbworks.com/w/page/20792238/FrontPage

ACTION items: