Jesse Wilkins, CRMJesse Wilkins, CRMApril 28, 2011April 28, 2011

Digital documents last forever – or five years, whichever comes first.

--Jeff Rothenberg, RAND Corp.

The problem with digital information Approaches to digital preservation Strategies for long-term access

Records are not new Physical records last as long as you need them…

Preservation principles:◦Durable media◦Storage conditions◦Disaster protection

Durable media examples:◦ Acid-free paper◦ Silver halide microfilm

Storage conditions examples:◦ Controlled temperature◦ Low, constant, humidity

Disaster protection examples:◦ Fireproof vault

Numerous standards apply

Physical records need little or no technology Electronic records need a lot of technology:

◦ Servers and networks◦ Disk drives◦ PC and operating system◦ Monitor◦ ERM system software

Software and hardware evolve rapidly!

Media deterioration Hardware compatibility Software compatibility Security and encryption A word about standards

There are no archival-class media for storing digital information◦ Media can be damaged,

scratched, stretched◦ Substrate separation – the

chemical layer that stores the data separates from media

And if there were – it wouldn’t matter!

Technical obsolescence◦ 8” floppy disks, laser video discs

Generational changes◦ Floppy disks, CDs

Non-standard formats◦ ZIP drives, LS-120

Rapid rate of change

Between applications◦ Microsoft Word, Corel WordPerfect

Between platforms◦ Word, Word for Mac

Between versions◦ Word 1.0, Word 2010

Passwords can be lost Some applications don’t play nicely with

encrypted or protected files Some applications don’t

recognize security features -- and ignore them

Formal standards are agreed to by users, vendors, industry experts, and managed by standards organizations.◦ XML, PDF

Ad hoc standards are controlled by vendors or smaller groups and are considered standards because they are in widespread use◦ Microsoft Word

Standards protect the organization!

Analog storage System archival Emulation Conversion Migration Each has its own strengths & weaknesses

Analog storage suffers from a number of issues:

Search and retrieval issues Storage requirements and costs Data loss, particularly

for rich media formats Sheer volume of stuff

Maintain copy of original hardware, software, operating system, and records

Still run into issues with media and hardware lifespan

Centralizes access to locations with older systems

Increasing number of systems required to ensure access to everything

Difficult to ensure everything is taken into account

Virtual recreation of original environment Does not require any conversion Requires periodic refreshing of the

emulation environment Still have issues around media and,

maybe, hardware to read it Lots of work is being done in this area

Move from proprietary to standard◦ HTML to XML◦ Windows bitmap to JPEG or TIFF◦ Excel to ASCII text

Can be labor-intensive Often results in some loss of data

◦ Proprietary formatting◦ Rich objects, images, formulas, etc.

Digital media doesn’t last forever… …and neither does the hardware Media must be refreshed while it’s still

readable Very labor intensive Often results in loss of some information

◦ Migration over generations often more reliable than migration through generations

Domesday book written in 1086 In 1986, BBC created interactive

presentation using LaserVision LV-ROM

By 2002 the discs were unreadable

Through significant effort and the use of migration and emulation, the Domesday presentation remains available

Know your holdings◦ Current file formats◦ Future file formats◦ Physical storage conditions◦ Retention requirements◦ Value/importance

Develop strategy◦ Improvement of physical storage conditions◦ Investigation of media degradation actions◦ Creation of file format metadata ◦ Adoption of standard file formats◦ Adoption of preservation-related standards

Develop a migration plan Create a technology watch function

Capture information using no compression or lossless compression

Use standard file and media formats Select high-quality media that will last 5-

10 years Capture relevant metadata

Capture information using no compression or lossless compression

Capture information in standard formats or formal descriptions

Select high-quality media and plan for migration

Capture relevant metadata Do not use encryption or passwords on

individual documents

Capture information in standard formats or formal descriptions

Select high-quality media and plan for migration

Capture and embed relevant metadata Consider converting to analog Do not use encryption or passwords on the

individual documents

Digital preservation requires work Ultimately a question of tradeoffs

◦ Cost to preserve◦ Cost of not preserving◦ Exactly what must be preserved

Pursue multiple preservation strategies Standards can help preservation efforts

Jesse Wilkins, CRMDirector, Systems of EngagementAIIM

+1 (303) 574-0749 direct

jwilkins@aiim.org

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