[PADG:675] NEDCC Study Reveals Need for Planning to Sustain Digital Collections

["Julie Carlson" <jcarlson@xxxxxxxxx>]

NORTHEAST DOCUMENT CONSERVATION CENTER STUDY
REVEALS NEED FOR PLANNING TO SUSTAIN DIGITAL COLLECTIONS

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THE NORTHEAST DOCUMENT CONSERVATION CENTER (NEDCC) IS CONDUCTING A STUDY of
the preservation needs of digital assets in museums and other cultural
institutions, supported by a National Museum Leadership Grant from the
Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). Cooperating partners for
this project are the Museum Computer Network (MCN), Heritage Preservation
(HP), the American Institute for Conservation (AIC), and the Center for
Research Libraries (CRL).

THE GOAL IS to develop a methodology for surveying the preservation needs of
an institution's digital holdings.

AS AN INITIAL STEP, the project advisory committee developed a prototype
e-mail questionnaire to gather data on the status of digital collections
from a sampling of cultural heritage institutions. The data suggested that
institutions need to be more concerned about the fragility of digital
assets:

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*** 92% OF THE INSTITUTIONS RESPONDING NOTED THAT THEY ARE CREATING
     DIGITAL MATERIALS.

*** ONLY 29% OF RESPONDING INSTITUTIONS REPORTED THAT THEY HAVE
     WRITTEN POLICIES TO ADDRESS THE MANAGEMENT OR PRESERVATION
     OF DIGITAL ASSETS.

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NEDCC CONVENED A COLLOQUIUM of experts in Boston on July 11-12, 2005 to
examine data from the questionnaire responses and preliminary information.
The event began with presentations of existing survey models, especially the
Conservation Assessment Program and the Heritage Health Index. Participants
engaged in moderated discussion on digital preservation needs and possible
solutions.

PARTICIPANTS IN THE COLLOQUIUM WERE:
Steve Chapman, Harvard University
Tom Clareson, OCLC
Paul Conway, Duke University
Steve Dalton, Boston College
Kevin Glick, Yale University
David Green, Knowledge Culture
Ken Hamma, J. Paul Getty Trust
Peter Hirtle, Cornell University
Kristen Laise, Heritage Preservation
Paul Messier, Conservator
Sam Quigley, Harvard University, MCN
Bernard Reilly, CRL
Rebecca Hatcher, NEDCC
 Ann Russell, NEDCC

THE MAJOR CONCLUSION was that small and medium-sized institutions will need
help from specialists in surveying the preservation needs of their growing
digital collections. The group took significant first steps toward
developing practical planning tools for assessing the preservation needs of
digital collections and envisioning a national survey program.


THE NEXT STEPS of the project include refining a new assessment instrument
and testing it through expert-conducted site visits to gather information on
an institution's digital assets. Information will be released as it is
available.

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For more information on NEDCC's programs and services
Visit www.nedcc.org  or call 978/470-1010