By Lori Ashley
CoSA’s Digital Preservation Capability Self-Assessment survey is a high-level framework of requirements from ISO 14721 and ISO 16363. This is the fifth and final blog in the BACKER series of five (5) blog posts to explore how specific components in the CoSA DPC survey relate to the systematic assessment of a digital preservation program and repository.
We are using categories from ISO 16363, Audit and certification of trustworthy digital repositories, to frame the key issues and help CoSA members prepare for a positive and useful experience with the January 2022 survey. This week we finish up with a look at the second part of category #2, Digital Object Management, and map their criteria and metrics to the 15 DPC survey questions and response statements.
A Note about the Survey
Since the mid-1970s archivists have recognized that the obsolescence of storage devices and media was a major risk to access to electronic records. They also recognized that dependency on computer software to interpret the bits on storage devices/media created an equally compelling risk to access to electronic records of permanent value.
Ensuring the continuity of electronic records and enabling the design, operation, and management of preservation repositories requires the integration of people, processes, and technologies. The purpose of digital continuity is to ensure that usable, understandable, and trustworthy records are accessible as far into the future as may be necessary, subject to any restrictions imposed by the records producers or donors.
Now that most business and government information is ‘born digital’ virtually no organization remains immune from the need to proactively address the requirements of long-term information assets managed in digitally encoded formats and systems. Communities of users should have access to authentic digital objects that a trustworthy digital repository properly preserves.
Digital Object Management: Preservation Planning
The criteria and metrics in this subsection relate to the preparedness of the repository as it relates to its holdings and the means to check and validate preservation work. This includes the capability to monitor the preservation environment so that the contents remain understandable and usable by the repository’s designated community over time and through changes in technologies. Inherent in this capability are mechanisms to change and update preservation plans as well as to collect and report evidence proving the usability and integrity of digital objects.
The repository must also have mechanisms to gather, identify and/or create extra Representation Information to ensure its designated community can access, use and locate usable digital objects over time. This capability relates to monitoring changes in technologies and file formats to inform preservation actions.
Digital preservation infrastructure and services components of the DPC Self-Assessment that relate to preservation planning include:
- Digital Preservation Strategy– proactively address the risks associated with technology obsolescence
- Collaborative Engagement – promote and maintain collaboration among internal and external stakeholders
- Technical Expertise - in-depth understanding of critical digital preservation actions and their associated recommended practices
- Designated Community – written procedures and formal agreements that document the content, rights, and conditions under which the digital repository will ingest, preserve, and provide access to electronic records
- Electronic Records Survey - preservation planning requires a projected volume and scope of permanent electronic government records that will come into its custody
- Preservation Metadata – manage metadata that documents preservation actions carried out, why and why they were performed, how they were carried out and with what results
Digital Object Management: AIP Preservation
The criteria and metrics in this subsection relate to the repository’s specifications for how Archival Information Packages (AIPs) are stored down to the bit level. Procedures and documentation for all actions taken on AIPs help to protect the integrity of archival objects over time and ensure that AIP information is not altered in ways that are unacceptable to consumers.
Digital preservation infrastructure and services components of the DPC Self-Assessment that relate to AIP preservation requirements include:
- Technical Expertise – infrastructure and key functions of an ISO 14721 conforming digital repository requires professional expertise in archival storage processes and controls
- Ingest – create AIPs and transfer the AIPs to the repository’s storage function
- Archival Storage – systematic automated storage services that support receipt and validation of successful transfer of AIPs from ingest
- Integrity – ensure the integrity of the records in its custody
- Security - data transfer integrity validations and logs for all preservation activities
- Preservation Metadata –metadata stored in the Preservation Description Information (PDI) component of compliant AIPs
Digital Object Management: Information Management
The criteria and metrics in this subsection relate to the repository’s understanding of the requirements of its designated community and its capability to enable discovery and identification of material of interest. Minimum description information must be created or captured to support discovery and be associated with the AIP. Bi-directional linkages between each AIP and its descriptive information must be maintained.
Digital preservation infrastructure and services components of the DPC Self-Assessment that relate to information management requirements include:
- Technical Expertise – infrastructure and key functions of an ISO 14721 conforming digital repository requires professional expertise in archival storage processes and controls
- Designated Community - proactive outreach and engagement with users
- Integrity – ensure the integrity of the records in its custody
- Security - data transfer integrity validations and logs for all preservation activities
- Preservation Metadata –metadata stored in the Preservation Description Information (PDI) component of compliant AIPs
Digital Object Management: Access Management
The criteria and metrics in this subsection relate to the existence and implementation of access policies as well as the capability of the repository to deliver demonstrably authentic objects as Dissemination Information Packages (DIPs). These requirements underpin the trust that can be placed in a digital repository.
Digital preservation infrastructure and services components of the DPC Self-Assessment that relate to access management requirements include:
- Digital Preservation Policy – documents that spell out the approach to operational management and sustainability of trustworthy repositories
- Governance - approaches and practices for trustworthy digital repositories sufficient to meet stakeholder needs
- Technical Expertise – infrastructure and key functions of an ISO 14721 conforming digital repository requires professional expertise in archival storage processes and controls
- Designated Community - proactive outreach and engagement with users
- Ingest – create AIPs and transfer the AIPs to the repository’s storage function
- Archival Storage – systematic automated storage services that support receipt and validation of successful transfer of AIPs from ingest
- Integrity – ensure the integrity of the records in its custody
- Security - data transfer integrity validations and logs for all preservation activities
- Access - production of DIPs is tracked to verify their trustworthiness and to identify query trends that are used to update electronic accessibility tools to support these trends
This completes our walk through of the ISO 16363 criteria for audit and certification of trustworthy digital repositories. I hope that the mapping of the Digital Preservation Capability Maturity Model components has been as useful an exercise for you and your institutions as it has been for me. Please join me for the SERI webinar on January 11, from 2-3 EST, to learn more about DPCMM and the launch of the 2022 Digital Preservation Capability self-assessment survey.
Now that we’ve made it through the ISO 16363 standard criteria, you may wish to re-visit the two-part blog post provided by the GPO to review why and how certification of the govinfo.gov repository is of strategic important to this federal legislative branch agency.
A Note about Post-Survey Activities
Plans are on track for the Digital Preservation Capability Self-Assessment survey to be issued to CoSA members in early February. The preparatory work includes a thorough review of the component descriptions and response options from the previous survey and an update to the database software.
The survey will be open for approximately three (3) weeks. A quick turnaround on issuing scorecards and supporting materials to the respondents is anticipated with a deeper analysis to follow. The analysis of 2022 DPC survey results in addition to a look back to 2015 results and action plans are expected to help prioritize follow-on CoSA content development and training plans.
Image credit: Jørgen Stamp, CC BY 2.5 DK <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/dk/deed.en>, via Wikimedia Commons
#BACKERResources
#DPCMM