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Put Away…And Not Forgotten<br />Riccardo Ferrante <br />Smithsonian Institution Archives<br />Smithsonian Institution Archives FairOctober, 2010<br />

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SI Archives is ….<br />The institutional memory of a unique American cultural resource and a steward of the national collections. SIA was established to ensure institutional accountability and enhance public appreciation of a great national treasure and the activities of the people associated with it. <br />[Neg.# 7004/b44f10/85-11427_0] [Neg.# SIA2009-0709]<br />Paleontologist Secretary Charles D. Walcott Ornithologist Roxie Collie S. Laybourne<br />Serves scholars, the Smithsonian community, and the general public, offering a range of reference, research, and records services.<br />

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Our experience with born-digital and digitized material<br /><ul><li> 1982 – Received digital records

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2001 – Preservation of digital records began

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2003 – websites, preservation tools and techniques

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2008 – email, preservation tools and techniques

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Worked to establish standards and best practices

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Digital archives includes over 30 Terabytes

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Documents

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Photographs and images

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Video and Audio

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Databases

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Websites

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Email

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Computer-aided designs

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...</li></li></ul><li>“Horror” Stories<br />Adhesive label removed recording <br /> layer from 10 year old CD<br />Equipment + Software<br />

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Obsolescence<br />A digital object becomes obsolete when it can no longer be maintained and rendered in an authentic and reliable manner, with integrity and completeness. <br />Risk factors<br />Physical storage media<br />Individual file formats<br />Applications, operating systems, hardware technology<br />Necessary skill sets for continued access <br />Financial sustainability<br />Too many varieties, precluding the ability to procure and sustain preservation environments<br />Digital Fragility<br />

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Organize<br />Reduce or eliminate risk factors<br />Preserve<br />Use<br />Effective Preservation Strategies <br />

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Effective Preservation Strategies <br />Organize<br />What you have, where it’s stored, and how to get to it<br /><ul><li>Draw boundaries around your collections

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Give the items meaningful names usinga consistent naming convention</li></li></ul><li>Effective Preservation Strategies <br />Organize <br /><ul><li>Reduce or eliminate risk factors

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Virus scans and format verification

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Backups

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Long-lived file format types

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Reliable storage media

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Documentation

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Monitor</li></ul>Inventory<br /><ul><li>Inspection

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Intervention</li></li></ul><li>Effective Preservation Strategies <br />Organize <br /><ul><li>Reduce or eliminate risk factors</li></ul>Preserve<br />Select long-lived file formats<br />Standards-based, non-proprietary<br />Accessible by multiple software programs, operating systems<br />Suitable for the object type<br />Examples <br />Photos: TIFF - 6,000 pixels across, 24-bit RGB, uncompressed<br />Documents: PDF <br />Video: Motion JPEG and MPEG-2 4:2:2<br />

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Organize<br />Reduce or eliminate risk factors<br />Preserve<br />Reliable storage media<br />Paper?<br />Optical disks<br />Internal or external hard drives<br />Flash drives<br />Or a combination?<br />Documentation<br />Keep records of what you have done with which objects<br />Essential for remembering what it is and choosing the next preservation step<br />Effective Preservation Strategies <br />

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Organize<br />Reduce or eliminate risk factors<br />Preserve<br />Use<br />Copies – not masters<br />Other file formats acceptable<br />Effective Preservation Strategies <br />

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Personal Collections<br />Organize<br />Reduce or eliminate risk factors<br />Preserve<br />Use<br />Organizational Archives<br />Effective Preservation Strategies <br />

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SIA’s Recent Activities<br /><ul><li> ~ 20% of annual accessions include digital records

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Some accessions contain only digital records

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Digitization

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Recent donation of Hussey photographs to NMAH</li></li></ul><li>Online Catalog and Finding Aids to our Collections<br />http://www.siarchives.si.edu/research/main_collectionaid.html<br />The Web<br />Main website - http://siarchives.si.edu<br />Photography Initiative – http://photography.si.edu<br />Images Gallery – http://smithsonianimages.si.edu<br />And social media including Flickr, YouTube, and Facebook<br />Blog – The BIGGER PICTURE – http://blog.photography.si.edu<br />Flickr –http://www.flickr.com/photos/smithsonian/<br />YouTube –http://www.youtube.com/user/SIArchives<br />Facebook– http://www.facebook.com/SmithsonianInstitutionArchives<br />Reference OSIARef@si.edu– Photographic Services – Photos@si.edu<br />Smithsonian Institution Archives <br />Ricc Ferrante - Director, Digital Services and IT Archivist<br />202-633-5906 - FerranteR@si.edu<br />Contact Us<br />