Conference Proposal

Your Catchy Title: Digital Data Capture for Small and Mid-Sized Institutions

While many larger institutions have made considerable headway on digital preservation, medium-sized and smaller-sized institutions have struggled to make similar progress, largely due to lack of time, staff, or funds. Yet, preparedness and action concerning digital materials is essential as more hard drives and CDs arrive from donors and old media begin to deteriorate. The ingest of new digital material, as well as ensuring older content is still accessible, is of great concern for archivists. This panel investigates the strategies that small and medium-sized institutions are implementing in order to ensure the preservation of digital objects in their repositories. Three panelists will also address their experience with digital preservation. Particularly, [sub-topics could include:] in creating awareness and surveying of donors,the process of ingest, choosing/creating management software, creating metadata, developing a methodology for preservation or access, providing users access to the digital content. Additionally, a panel member will discuss the working grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services that was awarded to Northern Illinois University that is currently investigating this issue.

Audience members with novice interest and understanding as well as experienced digital archivists in small and mid-sized institutions would benefit from this session; it will address the current concerns and methods of practice in collecting and archiving digital content. Audience members can leave the session with the latest knowledge in emerging methods for planning and implementing the processing of digital material.

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Proposal submitted to SAA 2013 Annual Meeting

Maximizing POWRR: Digital Data Capture for Small and Mid-Sized Institutions

Session abstract for publication Digital POWRR, or, Preserving (digital) Objects with Restricted Resources, is a project seeking an all-encompassing methodology for digital preservation that provides users the access to, or restrictions of, digital content that they create. Two project members—one from a mid-sized, public research institution and one from a small, private liberal arts school—will present the group’s findings. Audience members from all institution types who are seeking recommendations will find value in these research results.

Session abstract for review While many larger institutions are making headway on digital preservation, medium-sized and smaller-sized institutions have struggled to make similar progress. And yet, readiness concerning digital materials is essential as more hard drives and CDs arrive from donors and old media formats become obsolete. This panel describes the strategies that small and medium-sized institutions are implementing as a result of a National Leadership Grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. Digital POWRR, or, Preserving (digital) Objects with Restricted Resources, involves five Illinois academic institutions investigating campus-wide preservation of digital objects.

Two project members—one from a mid-sized, public research institution and one from a small, private liberal arts school—will present their experiences in this work that is ultimately developing an all-encompassing methodology for digital preservation while providing users the access to or restrictions of the digital content that they value.

Audience members from novice to experienced in all institution types will benefit from this session and will leave with the latest information on methods for planning and implementing the processing of digital material.

Credentials Lynne M. Thomas is the co-Principal Investigator of this IMLS-funded National Leadership Grant. As Curator of Rare Books and Special Collections at Northern Illinois University, she is responsible for popular culture special collections, including papers of contemporary authors. She co-authored Special Collections 2.0, with Beth Whittaker of the University of Kansas (Libraries Unlimited, 2009). Thomas was also a leader in developing a white paper on digital preservation for a state-wide library consortium.

Meg Miner is a Project Leader at one of five Partner Institutions in the IMLS grant. She works with a variety of campus constituencies to collect, preserve and make accessible records that document the academic and organizational activities of Illinois Wesleyan University. As a member of the Ames Library’s Digital Initiatives team since 2006, Miner helps develop policies and conducts campus outreach to secure the university’s digital assets and to develop IWU’s institutional repository.

Relationship to meeting goals: The investigators of this IMLS grant are all from academic institutions, but we are working with community organizations that have even fewer resources than we do. Additionally, IMLS is requiring us to look beyond just the collections we regularly manage and to identify ways we can help all parts of our organizations secure their digital heritage—a timely topic given data curation requirements many researchers are facing. Target audience: Attendees facing digital preservation challenges in repositories that lack technical support and/or funds to procure the increasingly prevalent large, and costly, commercial services will benefit from the findings of this project.