Preserving the Digital Past with the Open Data Project - EContent Magazine

"What happens if the lights go out? It's a question that strikes fear into the hearts of content providers everywhere--especially those that have transitioned from preserving hard copies to digital storage. Decisions about how to protect content-in this case, digital content--should be based both on an assessment of the purpose and value of that content and the development of a policy that outlines what is stored and how it is stored. Margaret Hedstrom is a professor in the School of Information at the University of Michigan where she heads the Open Data project, which provides graduate training for data sharing and reuse in e-science, and the Sustainable Environment-Actionable Data project, which explores how scientists can bring together massive, wildly varying data archives to work on environmental research. Hedstrom points out that safeguards can be established to protect digital content from even the most significant disasters. 'The current best practice is to replicate digital content in at least three places, preferably on different continents under different types of governance structures,' she says. Unless content is printed and stored on paper as part of normal operations, it's not a process she recommends. 'Printing and storing ‘hard copy' usually is not a cost effective option.' While those 'in the business' emphasize the many benefits that digital storage provides-including low cost, ease of accessibility, and the ability to share and append or annotate information easily, there are still some who are hesitant to give up the security of a hard copy.  Still, for most, the benefits of digital storage seem to outnumber the potential risks. And, say the experts, there are ways of minimizing risk and increasing the ability to experience benefits in a world where the cost of storage continues to decline.  The nostalgic notion that in the paper and print world print documents were well-organized and managed is no more true than the idea that everybody today carefully organizes their electronic materials and makes backups of everything, says Hedstrom.  The same issues and challenges exist in the digital world as in the traditional world. What has primarily changed, she says, is the sheer volume of information that we now have access to.  The most important thing that content providers can do to protect their digital information, says Hedstrom, is to have a policy and to stick to that policy consistently. 'Be clear on who is responsible for making sure that the material persists and who will pay for it,' she says. In addition, she notes, considerations about who owns rights to the material should be part of the process. 'Not just the owner, but sometimes in order to preserve material you have to change its format, so having the rights to also make copies and possibly make changes that are necessary for preservation are important pieces of any kind of retention or archiving policy,' she says.  'There seems to be a strong relationship between the visibility and use of information and the likelihood that someone is going to be concerned if it disappears,' notes Hedstrom. 'So making sure that people know this material exists and what they can do with it and how to find it is important.'  When working with third parties, regardless of platform, Hedstrom recommends that content providers make sure the service provider can explain exactly how the content is replicated and how it will be restored in the event of an interruption of service..."