While theoretical discussions on best practice call for urgent action
to ensure the survival of digital information, it is organisations and
institutions that are leading the drive to establish effective digital
preservation strategies (2). In order to understand the processes these
organisations are undertaking, ERPANET is conducting a series of case
studies in the area of digital preservation. In total, sixty case
studies, each of varying size, will investigate awareness, strategies,
and technologies used in an array of organisations. It is anticipated
that upwards of 500 organisations, institutions and public bodies will
eventually contribute to this research. The resulting corpus should
make a substantial contribution to our knowledge of practice in digital
preservation, and form the foundation for theory building and the
development of methodological tools. The value of these case studies
will come not only from the breadth of sectors included, but also
through the depth at which they will explore the issues.
ERPANET is deliberately and systematically approaching disparate
sectors from industry and business to facilitate discussion in areas
that have traditionally been unconnected. With these case studies
ERPANET will broaden the scope and understanding of digital
preservation through research and discussion. The case studies will be
published to improve the approaches and solutions being developed and
to reduce the redundancy of effort. The interviews are identifying
current practice not only in-depth within specific sectors, but also
cross-sectorally: what can the publishing sector learn from the
aeronautical sector? Eventually we aim to use this comparative data to
produce intra-sectoral overviews.
This cross-sectoral fertilisation is a main focus of ERPANET as laid
out in its Digital Preservation Charter (3). It is of primary
importance that disparate groups are given a mechanism through which to
come together as best practices for digital preservation are
established in each sector.
Aims
The principal aims of the study are to:
* build a picture of methods and match against context to produce best
practices;
* accumulate and make accessible information about practices;
* identify issues for further research;
* enable cross-sectoral practice comparisons;
* enable the development of assessment tools;
* create material for training seminars and workshops; and,
* develop contacts.
Potential sectors have been selected to represent a wide scope of
information production and digital preservation activity. Each sector
may present a unique perspective on digital preservation.
Organisational and sectoral requirements, awareness of digital
preservation, resources available, and the nature of the digital object
created place unique and specific demands on organisations. Each of the
case studies is being balanced to ensure a range of institutional
types, sizes, and locations.
The main areas of investigation included:
* perception and awareness of risk associated with information loss;
* understanding how digital preservation affects the organisation;
* identifying what actions have been taken to prevent data loss;
* the process of monitoring actions; and,
* mechanisms for determining future requirements.
Within each section, the questions were designed to bring
organisational perceptions and practices into focus. Questions were
aimed at understanding impressions held on digital preservation and the
impact that it has had on the respective organisation, exploring the
awareness in the sector of the issues and the importance that it was
accorded, and how it affected organisational thinking. The participants
were asked to describe, what in their views, were the main problems
associated with digital preservation and what value information
actually had in the sector. Through this the reasons for preserving
information as well as the risks associated with not preserving it
became clear.
The core of the questionnaire focused on the actions taken at corporate
level and sectoral levels in order to uncover policies, strategies, and
standards currently employed to tackle digital preservation concerns,
including selection, preservation techniques, storage, access, and
costs. Questions allowed participants to explore the future commitment
from their organisation and sector to digital preservation activities,
and where possible to relate their existing or planned activities to
those being conducted in other organisations with which they might be
familiar.
Ten organisations in each sector, and three people within each
organisation are targeted for each study. In reality this proved to be
problematic. Even when organisations are identified and interviews
timetabled, targets often withdrew just before we began the interview
process. Some withdrew after seeing the data collection instrument, due
in part to the time/effort involved, and others (we suspect) dropped
out because they realised that the expertise was not available within
their organisation to answer the questions. The perception of risks
that might arise through contributing to these studies worried some
organisations, particularly those from sectors where competitive
advantage is imperative, or liability and litigation issues especially
worrying. Non-disclosure agreements that stipulated that we would
neither name an organisation nor disclose any information that would
enable readers to identify them were used to reduce risks associated
with contributing to this study. In some cases the risk was still
deemed too great and organisations withdrew.