PHONOGRAMMARCHIV − AUSTRIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES

Intergovernmental Council for the

Information for All ProgrammeTwelfth Meeting of the Bureau

Open thematic debate on

Information Preservation

Paris, 3 April 2007

Dietrich Schüller

Presenting the Context

PHONOGRAMMARCHIV − AUSTRIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES Dietrich Schüller

Preservation of information

Two basic tasks• bring documents into repositories• preserve documents

PHONOGRAMMARCHIV − AUSTRIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES Dietrich Schüller

Bringing documents into repositories

Selection vs keeping everything – (administration) archives vs libraries (depot legal)

Sub-issue: the case of audio-, video, and electronic documents hitherto outside professional custody

PHONOGRAMMARCHIV − AUSTRIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES Dietrich Schüller

Preserving documents

The paradox inverse relation between age of document technology and longevity: clay tablets vs digital files

Additional threat for machine readable documents: availability of specific hard and software

Shift from passive to active preservation

PHONOGRAMMARCHIV − AUSTRIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES Dietrich Schüller

The role of digitisation

All kinds of documents• Opening new dimensions of democratic access • Secondary preservation by lifting stress from originals

by use

Audio and video documents• Indispensable measure for long-term preservation by

subsequent migration

PHONOGRAMMARCHIV − AUSTRIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES Dietrich Schüller

Digitisation ≠ (yet) preservation

Generally, text and photographic materials are preserved in their original forms, digital copies are surrogates for access only

Audio and video: digitisation is not the final solution for preservation, but only a first step

Digital files are the most endangered species amongst documents, vulnerable and volatile

Long-term preservation of digital information is a considerable technical, strategic, and financial challenge

PHONOGRAMMARCHIV − AUSTRIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES Dietrich Schüller

Costs of preservation

Classical documents • optimising and maintaining storage conditions• restoration• disaster preparedness

PHONOGRAMMARCHIV − AUSTRIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES Dietrich Schüller

Audio, video and electronic documents

Conversion (“ingest”) to digital repositories (NB: digital documents generally also need some conversion)

Maintaining digital files alive• data integrity checking• migration: automated systems vs manual approaches• hardware and storage media prices plunging• software

PHONOGRAMMARCHIV − AUSTRIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES Dietrich Schüller

Present digital preservation costs:

5-8 $ or € /GB/year

Aim to be reached within short (?) term:

1 $ or € /GB/year

PHONOGRAMMARCHIV − AUSTRIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES Dietrich Schüller

Memory of the World Sub-Committee on Technology:

Kevin Bradley: Risks Associated with the Use of Recordable CDs and DVDs as Reliable Storage Media in Archival Collections - Strategies and Alternatives, Paris, UNESCO 2006 www.unesco.org/webworld/risk

Kevin Bradley et al: Open Source Archival Repository Software (to be published 2007)

PHONOGRAMMARCHIV − AUSTRIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES Dietrich Schüller

Worldwide overview (sketch)

Situation of archives dependent from • organisational• financial• climatic

frame work

PHONOGRAMMARCHIV − AUSTRIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES Dietrich Schüller

Organisation and financing

Strongly dependant from governmental input – private sponsorship upcoming

Central vs decentralised institutions

Problems of continuity of funding in GIS countries

EU commission supported access, but left preservation to member states

Worldwide: 80% of materials related to cultural and linguistic diversity outside (proper) archival custody

PHONOGRAMMARCHIV − AUSTRIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES Dietrich Schüller

UNESCO Memory of the World Programme

Member states should use its potential for awareness raising – beyond the register!

PHONOGRAMMARCHIV − AUSTRIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES Dietrich Schüller

Climatic conditions in southern countries

Permanent struggle against• humidity• temperature • insects and pest• fungus

Low-cost improvement of storage conditions possible

Digitisation potential factor in reducing permanent storage costs

PHONOGRAMMARCHIV − AUSTRIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES Dietrich Schüller

Acetate cellulose tape suffering from extreme deformation due to hydrolysis

PHONOGRAMMARCHIV − AUSTRIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES Dietrich Schüller

Fungus growth through permanent storage at RH-levels above 65 %

PHONOGRAMMARCHIV − AUSTRIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES Dietrich Schüller

Thank you !

dietrich.schueller@oeaw.ac.at

www.pha.oeaw.ac.at