The story so far-digital preservation in institutional repositories

2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 80-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emmanuel Adjei ◽  
Monica Mensah ◽  
Eric Amponsah Amoaful

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the standards, strategies, support and challenges of digital preservation in institutional repositories in academic libraries in Ghana.Design/methodology/approachThe research was qualitative. Data used for analysis were drawn from interviews with respondents selected purposively from eight Ghanaian academic libraries.FindingsA key finding of the study was that although the academic libraries had operational directions for digital preservation activities in the institutional repositories, available standards and practices for ensuring long-term preservation seem to be unsuitable.Research limitations/implicationsRecommendations based on findings included development of comprehensive digital preservation policies to provide mandate and direction to preservation of the libraries digital collections, development of disaster plans, adequate funding, staff development and support from management.Originality/valueThe study has demonstrated the need for academic libraries in Ghana to have and develop good digital preservation standards for sustaining the institutional repositories to help in realizing its benefits.

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sharon E. Farb

Stewardship has always figured predominantly in the mission of libraries. This paper discusses major findings and implications of a study of licensing in U.S. academic libraries. The data suggests that not all libraries are accepting their heritage role - that is, they are not planning for long-term preservation and access for their growing licensed digital collections and resources. Instead they rely increasingly on third parties to perform this fundamental function. This shift may have far-reaching implications for long-term preservation and access to the world's knowledge and cultural and historical record.


2017 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 311-321 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laerte Pereira da Silva Júnior ◽  
Maria Manuel Borges

Purpose This paper aims to verify the implementation of digital preservation policies at the institutional repositories (IRs) of Brazilian Federal Universities. Design/methodology/approach The methodology used involved the verification of the information available in the Directory of Open Access Repositories (OpenDOAR) and on the websites of the IRs, to confirm the existence of published digital preservation policies. In this study, a sample of the 26 IRs of Brazilian Federal Universities registered with OpenDOAR, which represents 68 per cent of these repositories, was used. Findings The main conclusion is that the IRs of these universities do not have any published digital preservation policies, even though some repositories state their intention of preserving digital material in their institutional information policy. Originality/value The stakeholders of IRs need to implement a programme to guide their activities to preserve digital materials in the long term. In fact, similar to examples worldwide, this programme should take the form of an institutional commitment outlined in a digital preservation policy. IRs at Brazilian Federal Universities still have a long way to go to guarantee access to digital materials in the long term.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
José Manuel Barrueco ◽  
Miquel Termens

Purpose This paper aims to carry out a literature review on the implementation of digital preservation policies, strategies and actions by institutional repositories. The objective is to identify, out of the published experiences, at which level they are fulfilling the function of ensuring the long-term availability of the deposited materials. Design/methodology/approach Using a systematic literature review methodology, a total of 21 articles from international refereed journals published between 2009 and 2020 are reviewed. Findings The research production on this subject is very limited. The scarce number of published articles proves that the interest of repository managers has been focused on issues other than to assure the long-term availability of the assets they store. The literature review has not found clear evidence about how institutional repositories are implementing digital preservation. It is particularly striking the lack of works focused on the situation in European countries. More field studies are needed. They would allow to extract conclusions and produce best practices to help managers to improve preservation strategies. Originality/value This study has shown that one of the main functions of repositories is not being dealt with as promised by repository managers. More work in this area is needed. In particular, it is necessary for a study at the European level to gather detailed data that will allow to draw a portrait of the current situation, extract conclusions and produce best practices to help managers to improve or develop preservation strategies.


2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-64 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ebele N. Anyaoku ◽  
Anthonia U. Nwabueze Echedom ◽  
Ebikabowei Emmanuel Baro

Purpose The purpose of the study is to investigate the digital preservation practices in institutional repositories (IRs) in Africa. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from the IRs developed in university libraries in Africa, and it was done in two phases. The phases are website investigation to identify the university libraries in Africa that have developed IR and online questionnaire. Findings Results from the study showed that the majority of IRs in Africa used DSpace software to manage their digital contents, and more than half of the IRs engage in information migration. The study also revealed that the majority of the responding institutions provide long-term digital preservation in their IR. Interestingly, the majority of the IRs has developed digital preservation policy to guide the implementation of digital preservation for IR contents. Finally, the majority of the respondents indicated that they do not have long-term funding and lack the necessary technical staff with required skills to handle and manage the IR. Research limitations/implications Because of language barriers, data were collected from only universities in English speaking countries in Africa. Practical implications The findings of this study will make librarians in universities in Africa and other developing countries understand the key issues relating to digital preservation and longevity. Originality/value The findings of this study will inform information professionals, librarians in developing countries that are planning to create IRs and provide long-term digital preservation of electronic resources in their institution.


2017 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 117-127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shaun Trujillo ◽  
Meghan Bergin ◽  
Margaret Jessup ◽  
Johanna Radding ◽  
Sarah Walden McGowan

Purpose This work aims to provide a report on adopting a consortial model of collaboration toward understanding digital preservation practice. Design/methodology/approach This work provides a case study detailing the work and outcomes of a digital preservation pilot project undertaken by the Five College Libraries between 2014 and 2015. Findings Digital preservation is a broad endeavor and rapidly developing facet of digital collections and institutional repositories; yet, it is often an area that is not fully understood or implemented by many libraries and archives, largely because institutions lack the necessary resources to do it alone. Working across institutional lines provides a possible solution to overcoming resource limitations and general challenges for pursuing robust digital preservation programs. Research limitations/implications Findings reported in this work are based on a limited-scope pilot project. Several questions laid out during the pilot remain unanswered at its close. Originality/value This paper provides insight into an experimental process rarely reported in library and information science literature. The goal of the paper is to provide a reference point for institutions pursuing a consortial approach to the challenges of applied digital preservation practice.


2015 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 162-174 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miquel Termens ◽  
Mireia Ribera ◽  
Anita Locher

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyze the file formats of the digital objects stored in two of the largest open-access repositories in Spain, DDUB and TDX, and determines the implications of these formats for long-term preservation, focussing in particular on the different versions of PDF. Design/methodology/approach – To be able to study the two repositories, the authors harvested all the files corresponding to every digital object and some of their associated metadata using the Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting (OAI-PMH) and Open Archives Initiative Object Reuse and Exchange (OAI-ORE) protocols. The file formats were analyzed with DROID software and some additional tools. Findings – The results show that there is no alignment between the preservation policies declared by institutions, the technical tools available, and the actual stored files. Originality/value – The results show that file controls currently applied to institutional repositories do not suffice to grant their stated mission of long-term preservation of scientific literature.


2005 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-81 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Stanescu

PurposeTo describe INFORM, a new methodology for investigating and measuring the risk factors of digital formats and providing guidelines for preservation action plans.Design/methodology/approachConstruction of a model which aims to discover specific threats to preservation and measure their possible impact on preservation decisions. The methodology defines: risk categories of digital formats and their dependencies; risk factors for each category; scales to measure probability of occurrence and impact; and methods to collect, report and interpret the results.FindingsWhile individuals are biased and subjective in their aversion to risk, collating the assessments of many individuals should generate group‐consensus or group‐averaged objective results. Hence, preservation plans can be based on objective analysis of risk trends instead of individuals’ opinions developed in the relative isolation of their institutions. The methodology takes into consideration individuals’ aversion to risk, therefore refraining from imposing specific courses of action, but simply making suggestions of possible actions.Research limitations/implicationsA comprehensive approach to the format assessment must also consider, in addition to the risk factors, two other considerations, reflecting the quality of the digital format specification: significant properties of the format under consideration; the features of the format as defined in the format specification. These two aspects will be defined at a later time.Practical implicationsDigital archives, institutional repositories and digital libraries can take advantage of the measurements offered by the INFORM method to select digital formats most apt for long‐term viability. Moreover, by repeating the process, involved parties can detect changes in the threat model over time, to which digital collections managers can act accordingly.Originality/valueRisk management has been previously used to detect the potential of loss of web resources and has been inspirational to this author. However, this method is the first to use risk factors to measure digital preservation viability of digital formats. The results of the measurements described here can be used by: content creators and publishers, to suggest best formats to use; content curators, to restrict what is collected; content managers, to know in advance how difficult to handle a certain collection may be; and preservation planners, to define and implement preservation plans, in the form of either, migration strategies or short‐term emulation solutions.


2022 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Manal Ahmad Awamleh ◽  
Faten Hamad

Purpose Digital preservation requires new skills and collaboration among library staff to maintain long-term access to information resources. Digital content and digital technologies pose a serious challenge to information institutions to continue to select, preserve and access information resources. However, there is an urgent need to increase awareness of the new trends in the partnership between research communities and academic libraries; there is also a need for new digital preservation-related skills among librarians. Therefore, this research aims to investigate the benefits, importance, requirements and challenges of digital preservation in academic libraries in Jordan.Design/methodology/approach A questionnaire was disseminated to 150 library staff working at the 10 public universities in Jordan, with 133 questionnaires suitable to analyze with a response rate of (88.6%).Findings The results indicate a moderate perception of the benefits and importance of digital preservation, as well as the requirements and challenges in academic libraries in Jordan to carry out the digital preservation process. This indicated the importance of increasing the academic libraries' – specifically academic libraries in Jordan – awareness of the vast and important benefits of digital preservation to maintain long-term access to information. It was noted that factors such as sex, experience, educational level and specialization did not affect the results.Practical implications The findings will provide insights for other academic libraries on how to plan and develop preservation policies to maintain access to information.Social implications Access to information is a human right that contributes to the advocacy of sustainable development, and hence, digital preservation can facilitate long-term availability and accessibility to information.Originality/value This paper provides insights and practical solutions for academic libraries in response to technological development and the change requirements. It will help academic libraries handle and cope with the challenges of providing distance library services over digital channels.


2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 403
Author(s):  
Francisco Gilson Rebouças Porto Junior ◽  
Edson De Sousa Oliveira

Este trabalho busca discutir a aplicabilidade de novos modelos à editoração eletrônica científica para a área de Comunicação, por meio da Revista Observatório, hospedada no Portal de Periódicos da Universidade Federal do Tocantins. Coloca em questão a viabilidade do uso do sistema de editoração eletrônica de periódicos, desenvolvido no modelo da iniciativa dos arquivos abertos (OAI), e as condições necessárias ao êxito institucionais desta iniciativa, assim como a preservação de longo prazo de sua memória em repositórios institucionais internacionais confiáveis e de acesso livre.PALAVRAS-CHAVE: Publicação eletrônica científica; Política editorial; Acesso à informação científica; Preservação digital. ABSTRACTThis paper discusses the applicability of new models to the scientific electronic publishing to the area of communication, through the Observatory Journal, hosted the Journals Portal of the Federal University of Tocantins. Calls into question the viability of the use of desktop publishing system journals, developed the model of the initiative of open files (OAI), and the conditions necessary for institutional success of this initiative, as well as the long-term preservation of his memory in institutional repositories International reliable and free access.KEYWORDS: Scientific electronic publishing; Editorial policy; Access to scientific information; Digital preservation.  RESUMENEn este trabajo se analiza la aplicabilidad de nuevos modelos para la publicación científica electrónica para el área de la comunicación, através del Observatorio Magazine, fue sede del Portal de Revistas de la Universidad Federal de Tocantins. Pone en duda la viabilidad del uso de las revistas del sistema de autoedición, desarrollado el modelo de la iniciativa de archivos abiertos (OAI), y las condiciones necesarias para el éxito institucional de esta iniciativa, así como la conservación a largo plazo de su memoria en repositorios institucionales El acceso internacional fiable y libre.PALABRAS CLAVE: Publicación científica electrónica; Política editorial; El acceso a la información científica; La preservación digital. 


First Monday ◽  
2006 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sharon Farb

Stewardship has always figured predominantly in the mission of libraries. This paper discusses major findings and implications of a study of licensing in U.S. academic libraries. The data suggests that not all libraries are accepting their heritage role — that is, they are not planning for long–term preservation and access for their growing licensed digital collections and resources. Instead they rely increasingly on third parties to perform this fundamental function. This shift may have far–reaching implications for long–term preservation and access to the world’s knowledge and cultural and historical record.


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