Digital Preservation Policy Scoping Study

The creation, use, and reliance upon digital information for teaching, research, and administrative activity within the University of Glasgow has increased dramatically in recent years. While there are many benefits associated with working in the digital environment, there are also a greater number of risks associated with the long-term maintenance of digital information to ensure that it remains accessible and useable over time. Technological obsolescence, media degradation, and loss of authenticity are among the threats facing our digital holdings. To start to address this challenge, the University will shortly begin a scoping study project to establish an institutional roadmap to develop and implement a University-wide digital preservation policy.

In order to scope requirements the University will be running a number of scoping studies across academic departments and services. These studies will investigate what is happening in terms of creating, using, maintaining and preserving electronic records to ascertain what support and guidance is required and to make appropriate policy recommendations. The studies will be run by staff in HATII, a research centre specialising in humanities computing and digital preservation, together with the Data Protection and Freedom of Information Office.

Five units have agreed to participate in the study:

• Archaeology
• Chemistry
• Court Office
• English Language
• Electronics and Electrical Engineering

Interviews

It is likely the scoping studies will involve semi-structured interviews with key staff in each unit. A draft interview template has been prepared that suggests five core themes to guide discussion:

1. what digital material is being created;
2. how this is being created and maintained;
3. any issues that have been encountered;
4. the future for the unit’s electronic records;
5. requirements for support and services.

The findings from these interviews will be drawn together to provide an indication of how digital material is created and used within each unit, and to identify any trends across the institution as a whole. These conclusions will form the basis of guidance and policy recommendations.

Glossary

As many terms used here and in the interviews may be unfamiliar to people without an information management background, a short glossary has been provided. If you come across other terms that are unclear, please contact us s.jones@hatii.art.gla.ac.uk and we’ll add an explanation

Appraisal / selection / weeding: the process of deciding what needs to be kept, either in terms appraising material for long-term preservation, or simply as part of day-to-day management of files i.e. weeding out and deleting items that are no longer needed such as notifications for past events

Backup: creating one or more copies of a file or directory on a separate storage device in case the original is accidentally damaged or erased. Best practice is generally regarded as 2 copies on different storage media with one in a remote location.

Data: information in the form of measurements, numbers, words or images that have been collected together through experimentation or observation, often in the course of research

Data Protection (DP): an Act concerned with how the personal data of all living individuals is processed to ensure it is properly handled, remains secure, and is not kept longer than necessary

Electronic records / digital files: documents and other materials created using computers or other electronic devices. Common forms created in the University include: MS Word or other text-based documents; databases and spreadsheets; PowerPoint slides; digital photographs, illustrations or images; audio or video files; and measurements or raw data generated by specialised instruments.

Freedom of Information (FoI): an Act to ensure that people have the right to access information held by public authorities, subject to certain exemptions such as protection of personal data, commercial confidentiality or national security

Intellectual Property Rights (IPR): a set of legal rights, including copyright, to protect the rights of authors and creators over their material

File naming conventions: a procedure or rules for naming files that produces file names which all staff can easily interpret. For examples and guidance see the file naming guide by JISC Digital Media http://www.jiscdigitalmedia.ac.uk/crossmedia/advice/choosing-a-file-name/ 

Preservation: a set of processes and activities that ensure continued access to information. In terms of digital preservation this may include refreshing storage media such as CDs or migrating files through technological changes such as software updates to ensure they can still be open, read and understood.

Records management: the discipline of managing and controlling an organisation’s records, regardless of media format, from initial creation to final disposition. Advice on managing records according to University of Glasgow guidelines is available from the DP & FoI Office - http://www.gla.ac.uk/services/dpfoioffice/

Take part
If you have viewpoints and experiences to share that could help inform the guidance and policy recommendations we develop, or if you would like to contribute to the study in another way please contact Sarah Jones at s.jones@hatii.arts.gla.ac.uk or call (0141) 330 3549