Spring 2005 - Fridays 12:30-4:30pm, Rm 651
Digital Preservation and Restoration H72.1807
GOALS:
This class will address the use of digital files as preservation media,
and will build on Handling New Media to further investigate the
preservation of born digital materials. Current practices for
digitizing audio will be examined, as well as the initiatives by
broadcasters, the Library of Congress and other national archives, and
digital libraries to set standards for preservation and to utilize
digital files for video preservation. Students will gain experience
with planning for digital projects, as well as with current
digitization methods for analog materials. Trends in multimedia and
moving image production that will impact the preservation practices for
contemporary works will also be discussed.
EXPECTATIONS:
Each student will do three assignments as described below. Attendance
at all classes is expected; more than one unexcused absence will affect
grading. Grades will be based on a combination of class preparedness
and participation (25%); and assignments (25% each).
TEXTS:
There are no required texts for this class. Texts that are not
available online will be on reserve in the Bobst Library and the Cinema
Studies Film Study Center.
Class 1: March 11 -- Institutional repositories
and multi-institutional projects, part 1
Topics/activities:
- Syllabus review. (20 min.)
- Review of concepts of changes from analog to digital as impacts
objects, systems and practices (40 min.)
- Metadata Review, focusing on Structural and Administrative (plus
Dublin Core, EAD, etc.) (60 min)
- Initiatives and schema addressing architectures, metadata. Review
of attributes of a digital repository. (60 min.)
- OAIS Model
- Migration/emulation
- METS, PREMIS, UPF
- Related architectures (DSpace, LOCKSS, Universal Virtual
Computer)
- What are various roles for moving image archivists in this
environment. What are the actual tasks and job functions? (30 min.)
- Assignment #1: Create a status report on one
institutional/multi-institutional project or one project addressing a
particular problem, such as the preservation of electronic art or web
sites. Due March 24 as a 10 min. presentation. Answer questions such
as: What need or problem is this project trying to solve? What schema,
standards or models does it incorporate or is it unique? What special
approaches or designs are incorporated that may be interesting or
unique? What collections and preservation communities are involved? At
what stage is the project and how is it working? (10 min.)
To follow up on these topics see:
Metadata Initiatives & Standards
Related Architectures
- Dspace
- LOCKSS
- Universal Virtual Computer see Raymond Lorrie's A
Project on Preservation of Digital Data RLG DigiNews 5:3
Institutional/Multi-Institutional Initiatives
- CEDARS: curl exemplars in digital archives
- CAMiLEON: Creative Archiving at Michigan and Leeds Emulating the
Old on the New
- PANDORA: Australia's web archive Ð National Library of
Australia
- NEDLIB - Networked European Deposit Library
- MINERVA: Mapping the Internet Electronic Resources Virtual
Archive Ð Library of Congress
- NDIIP: National Digital Information Infrastructure and
Preservation Program Ð Library of Congress
- NARA:
Electronic Records Archive Ð US National Archives and
Records Administration
- Digital Library Federation, An Electronic Records Archives (ERA)
Update http://www.diglib.org/preserve/ERA2004.htm
Other Initiatives
NO CLASS: March 18 -- Spring Recess
Class 2: March 25 -- Institutional repositories and
multi-institutional projects, part 2.
Due this class:
- Assignment #1
- Read:
- Mary Ide, Dave MacCarn, Thom Shepard, and Leah Weisse,
Understanding the Preservation Challenge of Digital Television
- Howard D. Wactlar and Michael G. Christel, Digital Video
Archives: Managing through Metadata
- Dance Heritage Coalition, Digital Video Preservation
Reformatting Project, 2004
http://www.danceheritage.org/preservation/digital.html
- Symposium for the Adoption of JPEG 2000 in
Archives and Libraries.
- Digital Formats for Library of Congress Collections--Moving
Images (Spend as much time as you can looking over the various
sections here, particularly "Quality and Function" and "Preferences in
Summary")
- Carl Fleischhauer's March 16 response to AMIA Listserv
posting
Topics/activities:
- Presentations and discussion of Assignment
#1. Each student will present for 10 min. (5 min. per project) and
there will be 5 min. each for discussion. (90 min.)
- Review of new developments and pros/cons of video file formats;
i.e., jpeg 2000 vs. MPEG (25 min.)
- LC's Preferred formats -- both
essence and packaging
- Issues with preservation and access in the broadcast
environment: The NYU/WNET/WGBH NDIIPP project. (90 min.)
- Background on public TV preservation efforts
- Descriptive issues and PBCore
- The scope, goals, challenges, etc. of the NDIIPP project
- Discussion of Assignment #2: Creation of a plan for an audio
preservation lab Students will each develop a plan for an audio
preservation project in Bobst Library. The process of development is
described within the classes below. Due April 22. (15 min.)
Class 3: April 1
Due this class:
- Each student will have read the Bobst collection surveys and
will have written a draft statement of need and scope for the audio
plan. (1-2 pages)
- Read:
- Bobst Library Collection Surveys
- Abby Smith, David Randal Allen, and Karen Allen. Survey of
the State of Audio Collections in Academic Libraries. Washington DC:
Council on Library and Information Resources. 2004. Accessed 3/3/05.
- Clausen, Lars R. Handling File Formats. Copenhagen:
State and University Library. 2004. Accessed on 3/9/05 at http://www.netarchive.dk/website/publications/FileFormats-2004.pd
Topics/activities:
- Issues with video digitization. Melitte Buchman, Bobst Digital
Conversion Specialist will talk about her process of developing a
methodology for conversion of analog and digital video materials to
MPEG 2 and Quicktime files, and the development of DVDs for access. (75
min.)
- Lab work: Students will practice capturing analog video (85
min.)
- Discussion of draft need/scope documents and discussion of next
step: choice of destination formats; minimal descriptive standards and
redundancy of data. (60 min.)
- Digital
Audio Resources, Colorado Digital Library
Class 4: April 8
NOTE: Today we will have Janice Simpson talking at 3PM, and
class will go until 5:30.
Due this class:
- Each student will have written a draft statement concerning
destination formats, metadata and redundancy of data for the audio lab
plan. (1-2 pages)
- Read:
- Ubois, Jeff. New approaches to television archiving. First
Monday. Volume 10, Number 3. March 2005. Accessed 3/3/05 .
Topics/activities:
- Brief discussion with Alicia re; new dates for Reception, Poster
preservation
- Visit by Jerry McDonough, Team Leader, NYU
Digital Library. Ð What is involved in planning and running a
digital repository? (establishing and implementing standards, workflow,
start-up costs, ongoing costs, etc.?) How can smaller archives relate
to large institutional projects? (90 min.)
- Prototyping an audio preservation project: practical approaches
to metadata; capturing and storing digital audio files. (90 min.)
- Discussion of draft lab plan documents and discussion of next
step: costing out equipment, storage, and other technical needs. (40
min.)
Class 5: April 15 -- Web Site preservation
Due this class:
- Each student will have
written a draft statement costing out
equipment, storage, and other technical needs for the audio lab plan.
(1-2 pages)
- Read:
Topics/activities:
- Theories and methodologies for collecting and preserving web
sites. Deconstructing and analyzing a web site with multiple
operating systems and browsers; diagnosing problems with
and without software; diagramming structure, documenting behaviors,
capturing screen shots, migrating data between media storage devices,
... (will continue these activities next week)
- Basic history and issues raised in keeping a web site
functional for a decade (http://besser.tsoa.nyu.edu/impact/).
(40 min)
- The practicalities of risk assessment, emulation and migration
of
born digital materials. Discussion of readings.
- Student small-group identification of various files on the
Impact website. (20 min)
- Quicktime files
- Discussion of draft lab plan documents and discussion of next
step: short-term goals and staffing needs. (40 min.)
Class 6: April 22
Due this class:
- Assignment #2: Final audio lab plan.
- Read:
Topics/activities:
- Huming's presentation CURA
Community-University Research Alliance
- The practicalities of risk assessment, emulation and migration
of born digital materials, part 2. Continue practice deconstructing and
analyzing web site and migrating data, and discussing other issues
concerning the care of complex media works. Documentation of
Impact site (including site map, screen shots,
...). Continuation of developing framework for evaluating a
website.
- where are the boundaries of the site?
- # of files per type (html, jpg, mov, ...)
- file sizes
- observations about image files
- Discussion of tools that can be used for web preservation
functions (link checkers, older software versions).
- Students interview website creator (Howard) over issues such as
look and feel, functionality, behaviors, handling externalities,
rights, ...
- Problems with resurecting the .mov files on
the impact website
- Discussion of Assignment #3: Write a condition assessment and
treatment plan for a born-digital work or ephemeral work involving
digital technology/files. (5-8 pages) Due April 29. (20 min.)
Class 7: April 29
Due this class:
- Assignment #3
- Readings TBA
Topics/activities:
- Case study of emulation -- The Erl King. Guests Isaac
Dimitrovsky (programmer on emulation of Erl King) and Caitlen Jones
(Guggenheim conservator and project manager). Issues of
developing and managing an emulation project, both
administrative/managerial/planning, as well as technical. Given
the experience with The Erl King, what are the promises and problems
for future use of emulation? (75
min.)
- Students present on assessments/plans: 10 min. with 10 min.
discussion each. (2 hours).
- Reproduction, Copyright and
Ownership in the context of digital
preservation -- what does an archivist need to know? (55 min.)
- Looking to the future: modes of production, predictions for
'masters' and other artifacts, environments for display and storage for
digital works, copyright and ownership. Panel discussion. (75 min.)
- Review and critique of semester's work (40 min.)
- After class
- 4:30 Talk by Albert Maysles
- 5:30 Graduation reception