Preservation is concerned with establishing or maintaining the accessibility and integrity of recorded information in various forms, both analog and digital.
13
votes
4answers
248 views
Digital preservation: questions of format and volume for a digital photography collection
Our archives has been offered over 15TB of digital photography, which we are motivated to take. Here are some of the pertinent details:
The files consistently include two versions of every image:
A ...
7
votes
2answers
76 views
Features to consider for archival scanners?
My town has just started up a historic committee to collect and preserve historical documents and information.
We're starting to collect papers, books, maps, pictures, etc, but we're trying to ...
6
votes
2answers
196 views
How to preserve old newspapers?
If someone has found old newspapers (used as insulation in their wall), of some historical significance, what is the best way to preserve not only the papers themselves, but the information they ...
6
votes
1answer
60 views
How to preserve writing in books, magazines, &c.? (Ink, graphite)
Sometimes a rare item is notable not for the work itself but because it has been read and/or written in by someone famous. In these cases, what issues might arise and what can be done to improve the ...
5
votes
1answer
99 views
How to preserve a glossy magazine?
We have received a glossy magazine. We'd like to preserve it long-term. What are the preservation issues with glossy magazines? For example, are they usually acidic, and if so, does the glossy paper ...
7
votes
1answer
71 views
Are there preservation issues with plastic book jacket covers?
We have received a hardcover book, the dust jacket of which is wrapped in plastic cover. (We are not sure of the precise composition of the plastic, if that matters.) Do such plastic covers usually ...
2
votes
4answers
199 views
How to prevent books from becoming dirty due to being touched?
I found that my print books tend to be dirtier than others', in the sense that the side of the books, where you can use your hand to quickly flip through different pages, are often darker and have ...
11
votes
4answers
696 views
What preservation risks are associated with the PDF file format?
If the aim is to preserve access to intellectual content encoded in a PDF file, I'm interested in what risks might prevent (or increase the difficulty of) access to that content now or in the future.
...
14
votes
8answers
436 views
What tools are recommended for characterising, assessing or appraising digital content acquired for preservation by an archive?
I'm particularly interested in positive (or negative!) experiences of using particular tools to extract basic technical or content focused information which can then be used to inform decisions around ...
7
votes
3answers
176 views
How to fix mold (mildew?) smell and possible foxing?
An item has been donated to the library which, for various reasons, it would be preferable to repair/preserve rather than replace/reject. However, it has a mold (mildew?) smell throughout and possible ...
6
votes
1answer
185 views
Good Encoded Archival Description (EAD) books, tutorials, boilerplate?
I'm a beginner when it comes to EAD (had a metadata design studio class in grad school where we modelled EAD in SKOS/XML), but I'm looking at starting the archivist certification process and I'm ...
14
votes
6answers
430 views
Fixity checking in digital preservation systems
If your institution archives digital content and actively records fixity information (checksums) for files how often and how many of the files are checked? Some surveys have been done before, but I am ...
10
votes
2answers
395 views
What is the best format/standard for archiving static web pages? What software generates that format?
Assuming a static website (or a dynamic website that I'm choosing to archive as a static site), what is the best file format or standard to use to capture all of the dependencies (embedded images, ...
10
votes
3answers
146 views
How are libraries supporting researchers in the preservation and/or management of data?
It seems that libraries may have a critical role to play in supporting researchers in the management of their data. I am aware of some of the work taking place in the UK via JISC, but what other ...
4
votes
1answer
123 views
What successful methods have libraries found for dealing with smoke-damaged materials?
We have a few members of our library that routinely return materials that reek of smoke. We are looking for
practical methods to remove the smoke smell from books and audio-visual materials without ...
3
votes
3answers
150 views
How do libraries approach the challenge of deciding what items are worth preserving?
Are there any agreed policies or standards in the area of deciding what items are worth preserving? Items that seem mundane, like old catalogs, may prove useful for economists to track how prices, and ...
10
votes
2answers
182 views
What is an inexpensive way to back up a digital collection?
My collecting institution has a small digital collection. Because the collection is rather small backing items up to DuraCloud or in a LOCKSS system are not feasible. Backing items up on the ...
13
votes
11answers
329 views
Are there any libraries that try to preserve old software or old computer games? [closed]
Or are a huge percent of old computer games never archived and ever preserved?
3
votes
1answer
284 views
How much damage do silverfish do to library books?
I once opened the pages of an old copy of Richard Dawkins' "The Extended Phenotype" in a library, and there was a dead silverfish in between the pages of a book...
