Solitude

Fifty Digital Preservation Activities You Can Do

The Bitmarklet
Bitly Tools: more ways to save & share
http://1.usa.gov/12oPqSJ+
https://bitly.com/12oPqSJ+

Bagit — instructions for set up and use
Bagit is a java based program that creates archival bags of files following the Bagit standard developed by the Library of Congress.

BagIt
http://aabc.ca/resources/archivists-toolkit/electronic-records/

digital preservation tool
http://www.digitalpreservation.gov/multimedia/videos/bagit0609.html

• 30 top library stories you may have missed
• 5 ways to use Pinterest in your library
• Pinterest

• Is it the end of the book as libraries close and e-books take over?

Britain is reading fewer books as a result of library closures and the growth of e-books, new figures show.

Some 200 libraries closed in the last year and 300 are set to close in the next 12 months.

“Given the growth of digital books, you would have thought libraries are nose diving. But they are not. They are providing a trusted platform to access digital books and livelier more social, more engaging place for reading,” said Ms McKearney.

“Libraries have transformed. They are no longer warehouse of books. They are bringing reading alive, which is why it is so important to protect them.”

• Digital library loans get government backing

Review commissioned by government supports free lending of ebooks and remote borrowing

The Society of Chief Librarians was also positive about the review. “Libraries will only sustain their relevance by moving with the times; people’s lifestyle choices have changed dramatically in the last ten years, and with the potential to offer accessible, freely available content, libraries will be well positioned to continue to meet people’s future reading requirements and expectations,” said SCL digital group chair Nick Stopforth.

How to archive for the future? Daniel Caron and Eric Mechoulan at Berkman

Daniel Caron explains that disintermediation makes things much more difficult for archives. Previously, archives waited for material to come to them – saw their role as beginning after the selection process. Now, if archives are to be able to perform effectively, they need to be much more active in the selection of material.

This means that archiving has become less about guarding of a national treasure or heritage, and more about constructing document architectures and providing technical assistance to producers. The role of the archivist has become to tell producers of information about archival processes and access considerations in order to let them make decisions at the point of release of information. Archival holdings themselves are being transformed from living memories into certified records; from storage of facts to storage of events; from information to documents. Archives need to focus on making information decipherable – that is what is important.

Screening the Future 2013 Conference — Crossing boundaries for AV preservation
Screening the future is an annual showcase delivered by PrestoCentre and focusing on the latest trends in audiovisual preservation. This international conference brings together leaders in the fields of technology and research, and those with strategic responsibility for digitisation and digital preservation in the creative and cultural industries including broadcast, post-production, motion picture, sound and music recording, visual and performing arts. The conference aims to navigate participants through current case studies and latest thinking on standards and planning for the digital preservation of AV assets.

A brief guide to copyright durations

European Union
Currently: UK, France, Spain, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Netherlands, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Portugal. Provides protection for life of the artist plus 70 years from the end of the year of death of the artist.

EU exceptions:
Spain
If the artist died before 11th November 1987 their work is protected for life plus 80 years.
French war artists
If the work of art was published before 31st December 1920 it is protected for life of the artist plus 84 years and 272 days, and if it was published after that date, then it is protected for life plus 78 years and 120 days.

USA
Life of the artist plus 70 years. Please note that the legislation extending the duration from life 50 years to life 70 years was not retrospective. This means that if an artist was out of copyright under the 50 year rule on 27th October 1998, they stay out of copyright even if it is now less than 70 years since their death. It should also be noted that before 1978, copyright protection was not automatic - works had to be registered with the US copyright office. Protection also varies depending on whether the work was created before 1978 and whether it was published by that date.

Australasia, Japan, Poland, Russian Federation, South Africa
All provide protection for the life of the artist plus 50 years. In Japan, artists who were nationals of the UK, US and other Allied war nations before the Pacific War have been awarded an extension of copyright term of a further 3,794 days.

• Online research data service

DataConnect is the University’s online system for capturing information about research data collections. DataConnect is built around three simple concepts: Capture, Cite and Connect.

University of Adelaide staff members will be able to capture a description of their research dataset or data collection on DataConnect. This includes information about the nature and extent of the data, how it has been collected or generated, where it is stored, who can access it and so on. Users will be able to add value to that record by citing the people and projects involved with the data. DataConnect will integrate with the University’s human resources system and research management system to retrieve this information. Finally this information will be linked so that the connections between data, people and projects are visible; and the records will be published to a national data registry called Research Data Australia.

DataConnect will provide a record of research data, enable discovery and reuse of data where appropriate, and enable connections between researchers. As DataConnect grows it will provide greater exposure for research data outputs and strengthen compliance with the Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research.

• Research Data Management LibGuide

• DataConnect captures information about research data collections

• Preservation Week 2013 4/21-27

http://www.ala.org/preservationweek

• Saving Our Cultural Hertiage and Personal Family Collections

http://blogs.loc.gov/digitalpreservation/2013/03/preservation-week-2013-saving-our-cultural-hertiage-and-personal-family-collections/

• Preserving Your Personal Digital Photographs

Personal Digital Archiving
Wednesday, April 24, 2013 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM CDT
Thursday, 25 April 2013 02:00 HKT
http://www.ala.org/alcts/confevents/upcoming/webinar/pres/042413

• Preservation@your library

http://www.atyourlibrary.org/passiton

• Disaster Recovery

http://www.atyourlibrary.org/passiton/disaster-recovery

• Guides for Taking Care of Your Personal Heritage

http://www.conservation-us.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=Page.viewPage&pageId=497&parentID=472

• Preserving Personal Digital Collections

http://www.nedcc.org/education/training.calendar.php

• Association for Library Collections & Technical Services

http://www.ala.org/alcts/

Preserving Treasures After a Disaster

Air Drying

Mold

Check for active or dormant mold. Active mold looks fuzzy or slimy. Dormant mold is dry and powdery.

Remove the materials to a drier (but still cool) environment, and make sure that plenty of air is circulating around them. These conditions should render the possible biological growth dormant. If the mildewed materials are stored for an extended time under such conditions, the smell will eventually disappear of its own accord. The same technique can be applied to dry materials affected with active mold.

If you see mold growth, DO NOT attempt to clean it off until the materials are thoroughly dry. Premature cleaning attempts will grind the mold into the items and cause stains that are often impossible to remove.

A short exposure to sunlight and circulating air outdoors also may help to rid the books of the mildew smell. Remember, though, that light damages many materials. Placing items in the sunlight may result in some darkening or fading of materials, so select this approach only with items for which such damage is considered acceptable.

Disaster planning, preparedness and recovery for libraries and archives. 1988