Plymouth and West Devon Record Office (PWDRO)
Digital preservation policy

Introduction

Digital preservation is a rapidly expanding and quickly evolving field. The volume of material that is either ‘born digital’ or converted to digital format from hard copy is huge and growing exponentially. Digital material can include such items as:

• Images
• Databases
• Text documents
• Web pages
• Audio files

The importance of maintaining accessibility with respect to record keeping for both legal and cultural purposes cannot be underestimated. The potential for an information ‘black hole’ due to the failure to retain and preserve data pertaining to significant periods of time is a very real risk. Digital archives reflect the activities of people and organisations as much as their hard copy counterparts, but in significant ways are very vulnerable to damage or loss.

Digital material can be stored upon a variety of media such as CDs, DVDs, hard or flash drives and can exist in a wide variety of file formats. Digital records demand active management to ensure their longevity. Without it, loss, corruption or technical obsolescence can result.

Whilst the technologies to create digital material are many and varied, the means by which the resulting data are preserved and access to them ensured are less clearly defined. Consequently, this policy must be read and understood in the context of ongoing research and development within the field. PWDRO staff undertake to monitor and adapt to accepted best practice wherever possible. In order to achieve this, advice will be sought from:

• The National Archives
• Digital Preservation Coalition
• Local archive services deemed to be developing best practice
• Plymouth City Councils’s Information Services Department

Policy objectives

The purpose of this policy is to:

• Underwrite technical provision for the electronic archives of PWDRO’s parent body Plymouth City Council and for the plethora of individuals and organisations which seek to gift or deposit records at PWDRO.
• Raise awareness of the need to address the long-term needs of digital materials amongst PCC employees and members of the public.
• Encourage the transfer of digital archives to PWDRO by individuals, organisations and businesses. This is now reflected in PWDRO’s Acquisitions Policy (2007).

Material accepted

Digital archives are generated by both Plymouth City Council’s own departments and external bodies. PWDRO seeks to collect electronic archives from both of these sources and catalogue them, making them available to the public as it would conventional material such as paper and parchment. In order to do this, a procedural framework has been introduced to ensure that material can be efficiently processed upon its receipt by PWDRO. This will include the harvesting of metadata pertinent to digital materials for example:

• Information relating to copyright and provenance
• File format and any associated technical issues relating file and media types.

The full process of digital ingest (the receipt of electronic records into a digital archive) is detailed elsewhere in PWDRO’s Procedure for the Accession of Electronic Records (2008).

Digital archives will be appraised in the same way that hard copy material has been in the past and only material deemed appropriate for long term preservation will be retained.

Storage

The long term viability of portable digital media, for example, cd/dvd/memory stick are uncertain at best. Estimates of their longevity vary, but it is predicted that data corruption or loss of material stored on these media is inevitable over time.

As a result, PWDRO has obtained dedicated server space within Plymouth City Council’s online facilities on which to store the electronic records it has accessioned. The amount of server space currently available is small. However, the need for further space will be regularly reviewed and further capacity negotiated with Information Services Department (ISD) as dictated by the volume of material to be stored. Material is stored in a ‘read only’ format to assist in ensuring authentication.

Subsequent to the safe transferral of a digital archive to the secure server – following appropriate checks, the original media device will be boxed and stored in the PWDRO strongroom. This practice will need to be reviewed based upon the projected longevity of such devices and emerging best practice.

Digital preservation strategy

The migration of digital material to a new storage media and possibly software type will need to be considered. Standard or ‘open source’ software would almost certainly prove to be the easiest means by which this can be achieved. Decisions as to how best to proceed will be taken in conjunction with ISD and the best available advice from know experts in the field, for example, The National Archives.

The key to ensuring successful migration of data and thereby the safeguarding of important digital assets will be regular reviews of the file and storage media currently held and advance planning for and resourcing of any migration strategy.

Access

As important as the preservation of digital records is their availability to users. Accessions of digital material will have catalogue descriptions created for them as would hard copy material.

Initially upon request, PWDRO will copy digital archives from the secure server onto a portable format, for example, CD and make the records available within the public searchroom on PCs. Where appropriate permissions have been obtained, it will be possible to make certain digital archives, particularly images available through CALM, PWDRO’s archive management system.

City Archivist
December 2008