DigCCurr Professional Institute: Curation Practices

for the Digital Object Lifecycle

Managing in Responseto Technological Change

Nancy Y McGovern

Topics

• Nature of technological change

• Types of technology

• Community model

• Management principles

“Technology”

Defined as:• “scientific study of practical or industrial arts” [OED]

• “physical devices of technical performance” *

• knowledge about how innovations work *

• “skills, methods, procedures, routines…” *

• problem-solving activities *

• Sociotechnical system involving the “manufacture and use of objects involving people and other objects in combination” *

* UK Technology Education Centre

“Technological Change”

“accumulation of technology developments and the resulting changes in capabilities provided by the sum of technology developments”

McGovern, 2009

“Technology Development”

Outcomes:• Enhancement: doing an existing thing better• Alternative: doing an existing thing differently• New ability: doing a new and desired thing• Innovation: doing a new and unimagined thing

McGovern, 2009

Innovation Cycle

Adapted by McGovern, 2009

Human Response

Rogers’ technology adoption model

Technology for Curation

More than “avoid file format obsolescence”…

Preservation Planning

OAIS: Monitor Technology

• Objective: track emerging technologies, information standards, computing platforms

• Purpose: avoid obsolescence that could prevent access

• Scope: may include prototyping• Activities: provides reports, external data

standards, prototype results, alerts

“Technology Watch”

• Characteristics: – Absence of formal definition– Range in services– Often reviews of 6 technologies annually– JTC 1 standard

Community Efforts

• Digital Preservation for Museums: Recommendations - CHIN, 2004– Service requirements

• LIFE Project - UCL/BL, 2006-2008– Cost of technology watch for organizations

• Technology Watch Reports– e.g., DigiCULT, DPC, DCC, NSF

Technology Example: File Formats

• Identification: PRONOM (UDFR) and DROID• Validation: JHOVE• Preservation Plans: PLANETS• Normalization: XENA• Risk identification: LC sustainability factors• Risk assessment: KB format risk metrics• Risk notification: AONS (migration pathways)• Management costs: LIFE Project• Method: Cornell File Format Risk Report

Scope Adjustment

• More than: avoid file format obsolescence

• Holistic approach required for Technology: – technology portion of OAIS administration– technology support for all of OAIS– archival storage management– automated policy enforcement– system security– expertise and advise

Macro Monitoring

• Object: file formats, media metadata

• Collection: relationships, metadata

• Repository: software, tools, modules • Platform: protocols, security, software, hardware

• Organization: policies, procedures, protocols

• Standards: IT, Internet, archival, description

• Competencies: knowledge, skills, experience

Micro Monitoring

• e.g., 35 technology types enable OAIS

• Examples (implicit or explicit)– Communication: the ability to convey a message or a

specific piece of information – messaging mechanisms– Logs computer: files, often using a standard format,

that document activities performed – Policy enforcement: the ability to perform a function or

activity using rules to allow or prohibit activities

Priorities for Monitoring

• Contact: requires direct contact with digital content• Interaction: must respond to, not just be made

aware of, changes in digital content• Exploitation: potential to contribute to digital

preservation strategies by exploiting opportunities• Risk management: participates in the avoidance of

risks to integrity, longevity, or authenticity• Automation: potential to perform more effectively

for digital preservation if automated

Responding to Technology

• Identify potential new technology

• Monitor new technology

• Assess new technology

• Respond to new technology

• Act to avoid obsolescence of existing technologies

McGovern, 2009

McGovern, 2009

Curation Response

“Technology Responsiveness”

• Community objectives– accumulate current and historical information– develop competencies and tools– incorporate community developments – build a network of contributors and users– ensure sustainability

Managing Technology Leg

• Follow key developments• Balance monitoring and doing• Know yourself (5 stages)• Adjust for your organizational context• Manage human side of technology, too• No on/off switch – incremental progress• Anticipate change • Manage technology leg over time

Technology Investments

• Prioritize: meet essential requirements• Sequence: identify stages to accomplish• Assess: determine when to respond• Fund: decide when to own/share• Anticipate: understand past, look ahead• Evaluate: establish ongoing review

Optimal Developments

• Characteristics of good developments– written in a well-documented language– usable on a wide variety of platforms– modular in design– support for batch processing– designed for workflow integration– open source licensing– development driven by credible organization

Community Developments

• NDIIPP Partner Tool and Service Inventory http://www.digitalpreservation.gov/partners/resources/tools/index.html

• Digital Curation Center: Digital Curation Tools http://www.dcc.ac.uk/tools/digital-curation-tools/

• PADI Digital Preservation Tools http://www.nla.gov.au/padi/topics/535.html

• PRONOM Information Resources http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/aboutapps/pronom/tools.htm

• Web archiving tools: IIPC http://netpreserve.org/software/downloads.php

Technology Readiness

Curation Community Readiness

• Launch

• Develop (production-level)

• Demonstrate

• Develop capability

• Prove feasibility

• Research

“…the best way to forecast the future is to create it.”

Michael J. Gelb

“The most reliable way to forecast the future is to try to

understand the present.” John Naisbitt