Presentation

An Introduction To Using The Command Line Interface To Work With Files And Directories

With the increasing ingest of born digital and digitized collections, we are at the point (perhaps well past the point) of admitting that almost all archives are digital archives, and as a profession we must identify and gain training on the tools that will help us describe, store, and manage file-based collections in the same ways we do with physical collections.

The Command Line Interface (CLI) is a critical tool here, both for managing files from ingest to storage directly or being able to access certain applications that only have a CLI option for running. These introductions to CLI (both for Mac and Windows OS) provide a basic understanding of managing directories and files with the command line, skills which can be expanded from managing individual files to ingesting and caring for large sets of files in batches in order to save time and address the realities of file-based acquisition.

• CLI INTRODUCTION FOR MAC OS (PDF)
• CLI INTRODUCTION FOR WINDOWS OS (PDF)

FIAT/IFTA Cost Of Inaction Presentation

AVP President Chris Lacinak was invited to give a keynote presentation at the 2014 Fédération Internationale des Archives de Télévision / The International Federation of Television Archives (FIAT/IFTA) World Conference on the topic of our Cost of Inaction Calculator. The COI Calculator is a planning tool that provides estimated budgets and schedules over the long term so that one can begin to develop a preservation plan for beyond the immediate near term. By looking at the costs of physical storage and management, digitization, and digital storage, an institution can think about distributing costs over time while also considering the critical need for sustainability of preservation activities (and their associated costs) beyond short term fund raising or grants.

• WATCH THE VIDEO (YouTube)
• FIAT/IFTA COI KEYNOTE PRESENTATION (PDF)

Mapping Standards For Richer Assessments: NDSA Levels Of Digital Preservation And ISO 16363:2012

The basis of Bertram Lyons’ panel presentation at Digital Preservation 2014. To date, the difficulty and high bar of doing an internal assessment as a Trusted Digital Repository have created a hurdle to the ability of organizations to track or rank their progress towards digital preservation standards. AVP has been working on means of adapting TDR risk assessment by improving reporting options and analyses. Two assessment tools currently in use for digital preservation risk assessment are the NDSA’s Levels of Digital Preservation Matrix (Version 1) and ISO 16363:2012 Audit and Certification of Trustworthy Digital Repositories.

The two tools offer overlapping yet distinct methods of analysis, very useful but resulting in differing reporting classifications and outcomes that are not easy to reconcile. In order to encourage the use of the two tools under one roof, and, especially, to increase the outputs of a standard ISO 16363 assessment, AVP staff have mapped the Levels of Digital Preservation categories to the ISO 16363 requirements. A full paper on the topic will be available here soon.

Linked below is our work that documents the mapping of NDSA Levels of Digital Preservation categories to ISO 16363 criteria and the DigPres14 slidedeck. We offer these as an opportunity for community discourse and involvement. Please evaluate our mappings and let us know what you think to help us work towards a shared mapping that others can employ in a standardized way.

• ISO REQUIREMENT MAPPED TO NDSA CATEGORIES (XLSX)
• MAPPING STANDARDS FOR RICHER ASSESSMENT DIGPRES14 SLIDEDECK (PDF)

Nine Things To Consider When Assessing Cloud Storage

When evaluating cloud storage providers, it is dangerous to assume such services are only storage and therefore uncomplicated or that requirements for storage are obvious and therefore inherently met by the service provider. Experience with any technology selection will prove the opposite.

No two services are the same and the variance between services often represents the difference between successful implementation and a failed initiative. Never purchase a service without proper vetting; uninformed decisions risk loss of time, money, and even assets. These nine assessment criteria will help you get started in asking the right questions and making a practical, informed decision on using cloud storage for archival or preservation needs.

• NINE THINGS TO CONSIDER (PDF)
• NUEVE FACTORES A CONSIDERAR (PDF)

Smithsonian Digital Preservation Readiness Assessment

In July 2009, Smithsonian Secretary G. Wayne Clough spoke of the digital future of museums, libraries, and archives. “We have the capacity to tell the story of America and all its hopes, struggles, triumphs, creativity, contradictions, and courage.” “Ultimately, we want to put all of our … objects … online so you can access them wherever you live. We want to offer the Smithsonian experience to everyone,” said Clough to a group gathered at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.

To ensure the longevity of these born-digital and digitized collections, research, and resources, in 2014 Secretary Clough chartered a Digital Preservation Working Group to assess current preservation practices and develop lifecycle management recommendations for the future.

• SMITHSONIAN FULL REPORT (PDF)
• SMITHSONIAN EXECUTIVE SUMMARY (PDF)
• SMITHSONIAN HIGHLIGHTS (PDF)

AMIA 2013 Presentations

AVP was involved in a number of panels and events at the 2013 Association of Moving Image Archivists Conference in Richmond, Virginia, including organizing the first ever AMIA HackDay and presentations related to the imminent decay of magnetic media, the importance of metadata development for digital preservation, and the intricacies of vendor selection for digital asset management systems.

• CHRIS LACINAK “THE END OF ANALOG MEDIA: THE COST OF INACTION AND WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT” (PDF)
• MIKE CASEY, INDIANA UNIVERSITY, “WHY MEDIA PRESERVATION CAN’T WAIT THE WEATHERING STORM” (PDF)
• AMIA & DLF HACKDAY 2013 PROJECTS (Wiki)
• SETH ANDERSON, “NAVIGATING THE DIGITAL ARCHIVE: FIRST, KNOW THYSELF” (PDF)
• SETH ANDERSON, “MASTERING YOUR DATA: TOOLS FOR METADATA MANAGEMENT IN AV ARCHIVES” (PDF)
• KARA VAN MALSSEN “FROM ZERO TO DAM” (PDF)

MARAC 2013 Presentations

The Mid-Atlantic Region Archives Conference epitomizes the importance and reach of regional professional organizations, opening educational and networking opportunities to broader audiences that cannot regularly attend national conventions. AVP was a proud first-time participant on two panels this year on the topics of preserving complex digital artworks and the refinement of archival data using tools such as Open Refine. We look forward to presenting at future meetings.

• KATHRYN GRONSBELL, “ARCHIVING, PRESERVATION, & ACCESS OF COMPLEX ARTWORKS” (PDF)

Protecting The Personal Narrative: An Assessment Of Archival Practice’s Place In Personal Digital Archiving

The archival community struggles to fit in the private process of personal digital archiving. A common recommendation is to begin preservation far upstream, introducing archival practices early into the act of personal collection. But what may the archives best intentions introduce into the act of personal collection? Entering too early into the process may place undue influence on the decisions of the collector, the what gets kept and why?

Active preservation of digital personal archives is necessary for ensuring the longevity of materials, but the archives community must be aware that this may alter the personal narratives that personal archives represent. From the Personal Digital Archiving 2013 Conference, Seth Anderson’s presentation.

• WATCH THE VIDEO (Internet Archive)
• PROTECTING THE PERSONAL NARRATIVE (Slides, PDF)

A Primer On The Use Of TimeReference: A Field In The Bext Chunk Of BWF Files

This presentation addresses the typical questions that arise from embedded metadata implementers regarding the role, technicalities and value of the TimeReference field in the bext chunk of BWF files. This mostly visual presentation is a practical primer for everyone from engineers to archivists and librarians.

• A PRIMER ON THE USE OF TIMEREFERENCE (PDF)

Embedded Metadata In WAVE Files

Metadata is an integral component of digital preservation and an essential part of a digital object. Files without appropriate metadata lack the basic means required for computing systems and humans to understand, interpret, or manage them. Effectively, there is no preservation or meaningful access without metadata.

This presentation by Chris Lacinak covers the why, what and how of embedded metadata, focusing on WAVE audio files. It also reviews initial findings from an ARSC Technical Committee study, spearheaded by Chris, analyzing the interchange and persistence of embedded metadata across audio software applications that are regularly used in the creation of audio files in production and archival settings. Finally, Chris walks through BWF MetaEdit, a groundbreaking free and open-source tool commissioned by the Federal Agencies Digitization Guidelines Initiative and developed by AudioVisual Preservation Solutions in 2010.

• EMBEDDED METADATA IN WAVE FILES (PDF)

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