During the second day of the DAS workshop with Kari Smith we focused on the differences and similarities among digital libraries, archives and repositories, as they relate to issues of digital preservation. The big take-aways from the session were:
- When doing digital project planning, consider how a series of experiences can be leveraged into a holistic program. Those early experiences developing projects can offer important lessons learned.
- Issues of copyright ultimately boil down to risk management.
- When making policies, consider defining roles, not fitting existing staff into roles. Staff may change and turn-over, but established roles can help structure and guide a program.
- Policies should represent what an institution is doing/dealing with now. In other words, if your institution has three videos and hundreds of 5 1/4 floppies, figure out how to preserve floppies and not spend time developing policies and procedures for videos.
As with all other aspects of our professional, a successful digital preservation program takes good communication, consideration and involvement of key stakeholders and clear definitions of services.
I'm the Head of Special Collections at the University of Arkansas. I write about leadership development in academic libraries, collaboration, and project management.
Speak Your Mind