4 Replies to “Digital Preservation Policy: tenBroek Library”
I think it’s interesting how there are so many policies in place for your collection that are not a digital preservation policy, but have a lot of bearing on how digital preservation is carried out.
I’m interested in your ideas of how scale might change suddenly, and how the NDSA levels might actually go back. Usually, when I hear “grant funding,” I think of things moving forward/upward, but your policy definitely makes sense– if a grant has funds for tenBroek Library to acquire something, but not for the digital preservation practices the library holds, then holding the same standards might not be feasible.
@Alice – it really is interesting how institutional policies play off of one another. When working with the AAG on this project, they asked me specifically to address their strategic plan in the final policy document. Aligning your policies helps avoid overlap and contradictory statements about collections, acquisitions, technology used, etc.
This is especially true at my job – when writing up a communications policy for our blog I had to come up with four reasons why the blog supports both the strategic plan and a policy document from our division!
Great digital preservation policy. You covered a lot of material, but you kept your policy looking clean and easy to read/digest.
I like that you included the library’s existing policies. It’s a useful tool in getting a better idea of the library’s mission and general “feel.” I think that it makes a lot of sense to include them.
I noticed that you stated that the policy should be reassessed every 5 years. I wonder if it should be sooner due to the fast rate that technology and best practices, specifically in the field of digital preservation, change and evolve. I understand if available resources would make it more difficult to stay “cutting edge,” but I thought it was worth noting.
Great policy, Jeff. I particularly liked your section on responsibilities and internal collaboration. It’s especially important these days to spell out who exactly is responsible for certain activities. For a digital preservation policy, including the IT department in the work flow is a must. I also like that you mentioned “desired behaviors by the affiliate chapters,” but specified that those chapters are not responsible for preservation activities. Collaboration is great, but it is ultimately up to the archivist to make those crucial decisions.
I think it’s interesting how there are so many policies in place for your collection that are not a digital preservation policy, but have a lot of bearing on how digital preservation is carried out.
I’m interested in your ideas of how scale might change suddenly, and how the NDSA levels might actually go back. Usually, when I hear “grant funding,” I think of things moving forward/upward, but your policy definitely makes sense– if a grant has funds for tenBroek Library to acquire something, but not for the digital preservation practices the library holds, then holding the same standards might not be feasible.
@Alice – it really is interesting how institutional policies play off of one another. When working with the AAG on this project, they asked me specifically to address their strategic plan in the final policy document. Aligning your policies helps avoid overlap and contradictory statements about collections, acquisitions, technology used, etc.
This is especially true at my job – when writing up a communications policy for our blog I had to come up with four reasons why the blog supports both the strategic plan and a policy document from our division!
Great digital preservation policy. You covered a lot of material, but you kept your policy looking clean and easy to read/digest.
I like that you included the library’s existing policies. It’s a useful tool in getting a better idea of the library’s mission and general “feel.” I think that it makes a lot of sense to include them.
I noticed that you stated that the policy should be reassessed every 5 years. I wonder if it should be sooner due to the fast rate that technology and best practices, specifically in the field of digital preservation, change and evolve. I understand if available resources would make it more difficult to stay “cutting edge,” but I thought it was worth noting.
Great policy, Jeff. I particularly liked your section on responsibilities and internal collaboration. It’s especially important these days to spell out who exactly is responsible for certain activities. For a digital preservation policy, including the IT department in the work flow is a must. I also like that you mentioned “desired behaviors by the affiliate chapters,” but specified that those chapters are not responsible for preservation activities. Collaboration is great, but it is ultimately up to the archivist to make those crucial decisions.
Mallory