Behind the Screen: Successfully Managing Content for Delivery Greg Colati University of Denver National Archives Preservation Conference March, 2009

The Tip of the Iceberg Delivery systems, or what we are now starting to call “presentation layers,” are the most visible part of a digital library or archive. But they are just a small part of the overall system. March, 2009NARA Preservation Conference

A Sample Digital Collections System March, 2009NARA Preservation Conference Staples, Thornton, Ross Wayland and Sandra Payette, "The Fedora Project: An Open- source Digital Object Repository System, " D-LIb Magazine, April Management Storage Access Presentation

A DELIVERY SYSTEM BEGINS WITH RESOURCES … March, 2009NARA Preservation Conference

Characteristics The characteristics of a digital object are dependent on the relationships among capture factors, on post-processing decisions, and metadata. ◦ Imaging resolution/depth ◦ Audio/video sample rate, quantization ◦ OCR accuracy ◦ Post-capture clean-up and manipulation ◦ Metadata schemas and choices March, 2009NARA Preservation Conference

Digital Capture and Reusability March, 2009NARA Preservation Conference Capture for a single use Capture for many uses If you capture at the best quality that you can afford now, you end up with more options later

The Wide World of Metadata Metadata and Metadata Schemas are often specific to a community or a content type/format A sample list…. MARC, MODS, DC, OAI- DC, DACS, AACR2, RAD, CCO, VRA, ETDMS, METS, RSS, FOAF, IEEE LOM, SKOS, TEI, EAD, GILS, IMS, MIX, MIC, MADS, AAT, LCSH, SportsML, TGN, EDNA, VERS, PBCore, IPTC, XMP, CDWA, TIGER, CLiMB, CeLeBraTe, JHove… March, 2009NARA Preservation Conference Image: NASA

Metadata is Eternal! Metadata maintenance is perpetual To conform to emerging standards To adjust to new technical environments To add functionality and interoperability March, 2009NARA Preservation Conference Applications will come and go; metadata lives on!

…MOVES THROUGH THE MANAGEMENT LAYER… March, 2009NARA Preservation Conference

Objects and Collections Context First: archives are managed at the “collection” level and move though a hierarchy to deeper levels of detail. Context Second: digital objects are managed at the “item” or atomistic level and aggregated into collections through attributes March, 2009NARA Preservation Conference

Management MYTH “If only we had (fill in the blank)* everything would be fine” March, 2009NARA Preservation Conference * Fedora, DSpace, CONTENTdm, Insight, Filemaker Pro, MSAccess, Greenstone, Keystone, PINES, Koha, VuFind, DLXS, Documentum, Cumulus, Artesia, Rediscovery, Minisis, PastPerfect, a really big pad of paper, etc…

Management Reality Just having (fill in the blank)* is not enough No one system will ◦ Manage digital objects and metadata ◦ Provide public access ◦ Permit easy re-purposing ◦ Preserve digital assets ◦ Apply Manage policies ◦ Make Quality choices ◦ Determine Access controls March, 2009NARA Preservation Conference NO MANAGEMENT SYSTEM WILL MANAGE ITSELF!

Components of Digital Programs Hardware Software Content Controls (Policies) Trust Relationships March, 2009NARA Preservation Conference

…AND FINALLY TO PRESENTATION! March, 2009NARA Preservation Conference

Facsimile March, 2009NARA Preservation Conference FDR Library and Museum

March, 2009NARA Preservation Conference Highly Structured Text

General to Specific March, 2009NARA Preservation Conference

Specific to General March, 2009NARA Preservation Conference

Map-based Discovery March, 2009NARA Preservation Conference

Aggregation March, 2009NARA Preservation Conference

HOW DO WE GET THERE? Talking the talk, and walking the walk. March, 2009NARA Preservation Conference

Caught in the Middle? March, 2009NARA Preservation Conference

Components of Digital Programs (Review) Hardware Software Content Controls (Policies) Trust Relationships March, 2009NARA Preservation Conference

Content Creators Hardware Software Content Controls (Policies) Trust Relationships March, 2009NARA Preservation Conference

Stakeholders Hardware Software Content Controls (Policies) Trust Relationships March, 2009NARA Preservation Conference

IT Experts Hardware Software Content Controls (Policies) Trust Relationships March, 2009NARA Preservation Conference

End Users Hardware Software Content Controls (Policies) Trust Relationships March, 2009NARA Preservation Conference

Managers Hardware Software Content Controls (Policies) Trust Relationships March, 2009NARA Preservation Conference

Building the Team, Finding the Balance: Your New Best Friends March, 2009NARA Preservation Conference

Thank you Greg Colati Digital Initiatives Coordinator Penrose Library University of Denver March, 2009NARA Preservation Conference