Presenters: Matthew Harp (Digital Projects Librarian, ASU Libraries) and Samuel Dyal (Engineering and Data Services Librarian, ASU Libraries) Program Description: Digital technology has enabled us to record and share our memories and histories faster and in greater numbers than imagined previously. However digital files rely on hardware, software, and descriptive information to be used. As formats change and equipment to read them goes out of use we are all challenged to connect our present to our future. How long do you want your digital files to last? Decades or even a few years from now will you still be able to access and enjoy those pictures, documents and other digital items you create today? Libraries, museums and archives spend countless hours and resources preserving physical items from the past and present, but may be forfeiting the longevity of our digital work and connecting to future generations through unintended neglect. Using practical examples and employing best practices of research institutions, participants will learn important first steps to digital preservation including the importance of metadata to personal history, recommended file formats, and approaches they can immediately use to ensure the work they create today will still be enjoyed tomorrow. Help yourself, your organization, and your patrons continue to connect their digital heritage to the generations yet to come. Presented at the AzLA 2015 Annual Conference

1. Practical Preservation
for Everyone
Why Digital Preservation Matters to you
and your community
November 20, 2015
Flagstaff, AZ
Presented by
Sam Dyal and Matthew Harp

2. Digital Preservation
©RaimondSpekking/CCBY-SA3.0(viaWikimediaCommons)
"Wikimedia Foundation Servers-8055 08" by Victorgrigas - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-

3. Image from Mars taken by the Viking 2 lander

4. How?
oObsolescence (ability to access)
oDamage
oUser errors
oEquipment malfunctions
oCyber attacks or virus

5. It can Happen to You…
and Me

6. Take Action
Identify, Organize, and Describe - avoid
loss
Convert - fight obsolescence
Be secure - prevent attacks, damage
Back up Plan - save copies in multiple
places

7. Identify Why Preservation
digitalpreservation.gov/multimedia/videos/personalarchiv

8. OrganizeMain Archive

9. Title Creator Dates Location Subjects
The Usual Suspects
Describe

10. 20100228_HarpMatt.jpg
(yyyymmdd_LastFirst.ext)
20120701_HarpMatt_ALA_001.jpg
(yyyymmdd_Name_Place.ext)
separate_with-dashes_004.ext
Filenames
IMG_2611.jpg
#@$ !.^
Feb 21’ Matt Harp’s.ext
07.12 MH 1.ext
20120712 subject/title 4.ext

11. Be Consistent
Abbreviation Meaning
AZ Arizona
C Conference
P Presentations
N Notes
File Name Meaning
20151119_AZ-C-P-N_01.ppt YYYYMMDD_location-Event-Type_Version
Guide

12. Transfer and Convert
accessible sharable
usableimage: Why Preservation Matters
digitalpreservation.gov/multimedia/videos/personalarchiving.html

14. Recommended Formats
• Video: MOV, MPEG, MP4
• Audio: WAV, MP3
• Images: TIFF, JPEG
• Text: PDF, ASCII, RTF

15. Security

16. https://blog.knowbe4.com/bid/386493/And-in-THIS-corner-we-have-Dave

17. The Backup Plan
Original
External
Local
External
Remote

18. I LOVE IT WHEN A BACKUP PLAN
COMES TOGETHER

19. Remember…
Action Fights
• Identify, Organize,
and Describe
• Transfer and
Convert
• Be Secure
• Back it up - 3
places
Loss, deletion
Obsolescence
Cyber attacks
Damage

20. THANKS
Matthew Harp
Digital Projects Librarian
ASU Libraries
mharp@asu.edu
Sam Dyal
Engineering and Data
Services Librarian
ASU Libraries
samuel.dyal@asu.edu

21. References
• BLAKESLEE, B. S. (1990, ). Lost on earth: Wealth of data found in space: Scientists struggle to
extract celestial images imprisoned on fragile, unlabeled tapes. lost on earth: A wealth of data
found in 30 years in space.The New York Times.
• Personal Archiving, Preserving Your Digital Memories, Library of Congress,
http://digitalpreservation.gov/personalarchiving
Research Data Preservation Instruction Modules
• New England Collaborative Data Management Curriculum:
http://library.umassmed.edu/necdmc/modules
• DataONE education modules: https://www.dataone.org/education-modules

22. References
Preservation File Formats
Long-Term File Formats (Stanford)
https://lib.stanford.edu/data-management-services/file-formats
Sustainability of Digital Formats, Planning for Library of Congress Collections
http://www.digitalpreservation.gov/formats/fdd/browse_list.shtml
Get Involved and learn more about all of preservation
ALA Preservation Week
http://www.ala.org/alcts/preservationweek