Suggested Readings for Students
Baca, Murtha ed. Introduction to Metadata. Getty Conservation Institute, 1998.
Even though published in 1998, this is still a standard introduction to metadata. The first chapter, “Setting the Stage,” is essential reading for any understanding of metadata. It provides a clear but detailed explanation of what metadata is, the different types of metadata, and the applicability of metadata to digital preservation. The two subsequent chapters on metadata and the World Wide Web and on crosswalks are somewhat dated but provide excellent background information and overviews of both of these important issues.
Conway, Paul. Preservation in a Digital World.
A core reading that presents the challenges and dilemmas of digital preservation and “provides an intellectual rationale for maintaining the centrality of preservation concepts and ethics in an increasingly digital information environment.” Conway sets out a framework for digital preservation that remains as relevant today as it was when it was written in 1996.
The Evidence in Hand: Report of the Task Force on the Artifacts in Library Collections. Washington, D.C.: Council on Library and Information Resources, November 2001.
Findings of a task force of scholars convened by CLIR in 1999 and tasked with investigating the “role of artifacts — original, unreformatted materials — in library and archival collections, and the value of those materials for scholarship and teaching.” The task force found that despite a number of challenges to original materials (i.e., unstable formats, preservation economics), the original had scholarly value and should be preserved. They considered traditional criteria for selecting for preservation and found them still valid, and presented several strategies for preserving artifactual material.
Levine, Melissa Smith. “Overview of Copyright Issues.” In Handbook for Digital Projects: A Management Tool for Preservation and Access, edited by Maxine K. Sitts. Andover, Mass.: Northeast Document Conservation Center, 2000.
Moves from a discussion of basic copyright law to copyright in a digital environment with reference to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, as well as case law that has evolved in this area. Suggests strategies for approaching intellectual property issues when planning a digital project.
NISO Framework Advisory Group. A Framework of Guidance for Building Good Digital Collections. 2nd ed. Bethesda, Md.: National Information Standards Organization, 2004.
Excellent overall teaching guide to this lesson. Covers the three critical areas of digital collections and selection criteria, digital objects, and metadata. Articulates principles in each of these areas, walks the reader through several examples, and points to extensive additional resources.
For Further Study
Building a National Strategy for Preservation: Issues in Digital Media Archiving. Commissioned for and sponsored by the National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program, Library of Congress, April 2002.
Cook, Terry. “Electronic Records, Paper Minds: The Revolution in Information Management and Archives in the Post-custodial and Post-modern Era.” In Archives and Manuscripts 22 (Nov. 1994): 300–329.
Lavoie, Brian F. The Incentives to Preserve Digital Materials: Roles, Scenarios, and Economic Decision-Making. OCLC Online Computer Library Center, Inc., Office of Research, 2003.