Disaster Planning for Digital Repositories
When: Friday, April 26th, 11am-2:30pm EST (includes 30 minute break).
RSVP Deadline: Monday, April 22nd
Este evento contará con la interpretación simultánea de inglés al español
Description:
This workshop on Disaster Planning for Digital Repositories delves deeply into the essentials of risk assessment and disaster planning for digital collections. Facilitated by Rebecca Frank, a researcher with expertise in risk and disaster planning for digital preservation, this session is specifically designed to arm information professionals with knowledge and practical tools needed for conducting effective risk assessments and crafting robust disaster plans. By focusing on the strategies for identifying risks and practical approaches for developing disaster plans, the workshop addresses the urgent need for preparedness in the face of uncertainty.
The workshop is structured to explore approaches for risk assessment and disaster planning via presentation, discussion, and hands-on activities. The workshop will begin with an interactive presentation and discussion about risk assessment strategies and approaches to disaster planning. After establishing a foundation and shared understanding around these topics, the workshop will transition into hands-on activities. Participants will be guided through practical exercises designed to introduce risk assessment processes and outline disaster plan content. These activities aim to cement the concepts discussed and provide attendees with actionable skills and strategies.
Emphasizing the critical importance of identifying and understanding threats and risks to digital collections, the workshop underscores a strategy for disaster preparedness that focuses on response and recovery. Attendees will leave with a heightened awareness of the vulnerabilities inherent in digital repositories and a clear set of practices for mitigating these risks. This workshop is not just an educational opportunity but a call to action for information professionals to prioritize the preservation and resilience of digital repositories.
Instructor bio:
Rebecca D. Frank, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor at the School of Information Sciences at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK). She is also affiliated with the Einstein Center Digital Future in Berlin, Germany. Prior to joining the faculty at UTK, she was the Einstein Center Digital Future Junior Professor for Information Management at the Berlin School of Library and Information Science at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. Her research examines the social construction of risk in trustworthy digital repository audit and certification. She also conducts research in the areas of open data, digital preservation, digital curation, and data reuse, focusing on the social and ethical barriers that limit or prevent efforts to curate, preserve, and/or make data open. She has a PhD and an MSI from the University of Michigan School of Information, and a BA in Organizational Studies from the University of Michigan. Her work has been supported by the Deutsche Stiftung Friedensforschung (German Foundation for Peace Research), the Einstein Centre Digital Future, the InfraLab Berlin, the National Science Foundation (United States), and the Australian Academy of Science.
An Introduction to Software Preservation and Emulation
When: May 7th & 9th, 2024, 1pm-3pm EST.
RSVP Deadline: Friday, May 3rd.
Este evento contará con la interpretación simultánea de inglés al español
Description:
What do you do if you get data off old floppies, CD-ROMs, or hard drives, but still can’t access the files because they depend on decades-old software? What if the files lose data or don’t look right when converted or opened in a modern format? Emulation can help by recreating the whole computing environment your data was originally intended for. But it also requires a familiarity with software and computing systems that takes significant time and is often outside the bounds of traditional archiving and cultural heritage work.
In this two-day workshop, participants and instructors will take a step back from our day-to-day work and consider the question: What is a computer? Using this question as an anchor, participants will gain conceptual and practical experience with the concerns of incorporating software preservation and emulation into digital preservation workflows.
On day one, participants will gain perspective on the landscape of software and software-dependent collections and build basic familiarity with components of computers and virtual machines. On day two, we’ll work directly with emulation and digital preservation tools, and take time at the end of the day to reflect on the role of emulation as a preservation and access strategy within a cultural heritage context.
Learning objectives:
- Become familiar with software and software-based collections, both conceptually and via use case examples
- Develop a framework for thinking through persistent and emerging preservation and access questions for complex, born-digital collections
- Learn foundational components and structure of computing hardware and virtual machines (VMs)
- Break through apprehension to use emulators: with some guidance in exploration and decision-making, all of us are capable of leveraging these tools
- Learn why collaboration is essential for this work, and identify opportunities and communities to practice your new skills
Instructor bios:
Ethan Gates (he/him) is a Software Preservation Analyst for Yale University Library and leads user support and documentation for the grant-funded EaaSI (Emulation-as-a-Service Infrastructure) program of work. He contributed the entry for “Emulation” in The Handbook of Archival Practice (Rowman & Littlefield, 2021) and has served professionally for the Association of Moving Image Archivists, the BitCurator Consortium, and the Software Preservation Network.
Claire Fox (she/her) is a Digital Preservation Librarian at Yale University Library. At Yale, she works to build awareness, strategy, and workflows for the long-term preservation and access of Yale’s software and software-dependent collections. She is also a member of the Software Preservation Network, where she serves as treasurer for the Coordinating Committee and as a co-coordinator for the Metadata Working Group. She lives in Portland, Oregon.
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