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Showing posts from September, 2012

Installing archivematica ...and running out of memory

For a couple of months now I have been intending to install archivematica and test it out. Described as a "free and open-source digital preservation system that is designed to maintain standards-based, long-term access to collections of digital objects", this sounds like it could be a great starting point for establishing a digital archive here at the Borthwick Institute . Also strongly in its favour from my perspective is the fact that it is compatible with the Open Archival Information System (OAIS) reference model and supports metadata standards such as PREMIS and Dublin Core. Though I have had a passing interest in this software for some time, in my previous job at the Archaeology Data Service we had a long established digital archive with preservation systems and migration pathways already in place. Setting up archivematica in such a way to interface with our existing processes and procedures there may not have been an easy. Here in the Borthwick Institute we

First steps for securing digital media within an analogue archive

Isn't it a happy day when a new report on digital preservation appears in your in-box at just the right time? The following report from OCLC is just one of these. I have been in the new post as Digital Archivist for the Borthwick Institute for Archives for 3 months now and had been thinking about what to do with the digital material that is buried deep in the strongrooms of our building. You've Got to Walk Before You Can Run: First Steps for Managing Born-Digital Content Received on Physical Media by Ricky Erway, OCLC Research This report describes a simple but straightforward set of steps for locating and securing digital media that exist in a traditional analogue archive. It works on the premis that doing something now is far better than waiting until a more complete digital preservation solution is available. By simply locating the digital media, copying it to a more secure storage area and establishing what we have, we can instantly gain some level of control over our di