PADI Selection Criteria
- Introduction
- Content
- Scope
- Format
- Special inclusions
- Exclusions
Appendix 1. Resource Types Appendix 2. Digital Preservation Topics
1. Introduction
Focus: The PADI website is a subject gateway providing access to
resources about digital preservation. PADI aims to map progress at the
forefront of digital preservation initiatives, by identifying the current
issues being addressed, the principal groups involved, and the main directions
being explored.
Audience: Resources selected for inclusion on PADI aim to be of
interest to a wide audience, including digital preservation professionals,
electronic records managers, librarians, archivists, collection managers,
creators, policy makers, museum curators, audiovisual specialists, systems
designers and information technologists.
2. Content
Subject: The major criterion governing selection of a resource
for PADI is that a significant component of the information presented should
relate to the preservation of digital information; material that relates
purely to short-term access to digital information should not be placed on the
site. The single exception is events, which are included more broadly, and are
considered relevant if they provide information that contributes to an
understanding of the context of digital preservation. For more detailed
guidance on Resource Types and Digital Preservation
Topics for inclusion on PADI, please refer to Appendices
1 and 2.
Relationship to other material on the site: Whilst excessive
duplication of similar materials should be avoided, selection of resources
reflecting a range of viewpoints on like issues is encouraged. Resources which
make a useful contribution to overall topical or geographical coverage are
welcomed for inclusion on the site.
The following general criteria should also be applied when selecting
material for inclusion on PADI:
3. Scope
Accuracy: The information presented in resources selected for
PADI should be accurate. Resources should be relatively free from typographical
and grammatical errors, and should be carefully compiled.
Currency: To maintain the currency of the site, selected
resources should be of recent issue (that is, produced in the last five years),
or subject to regular updates. In general, past events are only entered if they
are of core significance; published papers of past conferences are considered
for selection when they become available. However, a category of highly
significant material, which may not reflect current practice or be of recent
issue, but which is important in documenting the evolving area of digital
preservation, is also of interest to the site.
Reliability: The stability of sites should also be considered
when selecting resources. Those resources with stable organisational support,
and firm funding or sponsorship structures, are the most likely to be reliably
maintained.
Authority: Those resources created, published and produced by
reputable individuals or organisations are the most likely to contain high
quality information. Expertise of authors (if known), the nature of the
publishing organisation, and reliable lists of references can be used as
indications of a sites authority.
Coverage: PADI indexes resources specifically concerned with
preserving access to digital information, as well as broader topical materials
which include digital preservation as a component. In selecting, materials
displaying good depth of coverage rather than superficial treatment of issues
are favoured. As an international subject gateway, global, national and
regional geographical resources are all within scope, providing they are of
relevance to other practitioners. Resources in any language may be selected.
4. Format
Physical format: PADI provides links to a range of electronic and
print resources, including websites, papers and events.
Method of access: To be included on PADI, readily accessible
materials which contain an online link to a website or email address are
preferred, though some key print-based resources are selected. Materials
which require special equipment or software for operation through the Internet
are of less value to PADI users.
5. Special inclusions
Other resources: In special instances, materials outside the
scope of the above criteria may be selected for PADI. For example, an
innovative project in another field of specialisation, which may have potential
application in the area of digital preservation, might be included.
6. Exclusions
Commercial sites which contain a large amount of promotional or
advertising material.
Personal sites, unless they provide information of outstanding
value.
For further information or assistance in using these guidelines, please
contact:
PADI Coordinator Preservation Services National Library of
Australia email:padi@nla.gov.au
Appendix 1. Resource Types
The following Resource Types may be selected for the PADI database:
Article: This grouping comprises articles and papers on topics
relating to the preservation of access to digital information; included under
the heading are individual papers from published conference proceedings.
Bibliography: Indexed under this heading are websites and
publications listing resources either chiefly or partially relating to the
preservation of access to digital information.
Case Study: This resource type is assigned to case studies
describing the handling of actual material, which focus on the preservation of
access to digital information, or which may explore the digital preservation
issues of a wider project.
Discussion List: Included in this category are discussion lists
of interest to those engaged in the preservation of access to digital
information; in view of the diverse occupational base of PADI users, relevant
lists may originate from a variety of areas.
Event: As well as conferences and other events focusing on the
preservation of digital information, meetings that provide an understanding of
the context of digital preservation may be selected. In general, events should
be current; however, retrospective events may be selected if they are core to
digital preservation, or if linked to published papers.
Glossary: Encompasses glossaries, dictionaries and thesauri
containing terms that are relevant to preserving digital information; these may
include lists of definitions produced by practitioners employed across the
breadth of information technologies.
Journal: Journals, newsletters and newspapers containing articles
of interest to those wishing to preserve digital information are indexed here.
Resources that are seminal, current, and contain analysis or links to other
digital preservation sites are considered the most useful for inclusion.
Organisation: This resource type focuses on organisations that
manage or document the preservation of digital information, either as a major
focus or as a component of their activities.
Policy/Strategy/Guideline: This category comprises resources
which provide useful general statements about ideas or practical approaches to
digital preservation; such materials are often issued in the form of
guidelines, policy statements or official strategies.
Project: A category used for reports describing projects that
address the preservation of access to digital material either as a major focus,
or as a single aspect of a wider project.
Website: Indexed under this heading are websites that document
the preservation of access to digital information; the category may also
include more general sites or pages that have a useful digital preservation
component.
External: Resources assigned this category are stored in the PADI
database but do not display on the website. The type is used for indexing
materials which are themselves too general for inclusion on PADI, but which
contain as a subset a chapter or part (entered separately on the database)
dealing more specifically with the preservation of access to digital
information. In this way, the relationship between the subset and the entire
resource may be recorded.
Appendix 2. Digital Preservation Topics
Resources from the following Digital Preservation Topics may be selected
for the PADI database. Should you wish to add a new topic, please contact the
PADI Coordinator at padi@nla.gov.au
General Resources: This type is assigned to resources
addressing the preservation of access to digital information from a broad
perspective.
Issues
Archiving: In PADI, this topic specifically refers to digital
archiving, that is the technique of identifying, collecting and storing digital
materials for preservation and future access; resources dealing with the
broader concerns of traditional paper-based archiving methods are not selected
for the site.
Authenticity: Authenticity relates to the degree of confidence a
user can have that an object is the same as the one expected, based on a prior
reference, or in what it purports to be. Included here are resources discussing
authenticity issues relating to preserving digital material, often in
association with the related subjects of conversion, storage, transmission,
rendering, functionality, metadata, encapsulation and encryption.
Costs: This topic is assigned to resources discussing the costs
involved in providing long-term access to digital information; selected
materials may include financial analyses and quantifications of preserving
digital records.
Roles and responsibilities: Brought together under this heading
are resources analysing the changing relationships of those responsible for the
long-term preservation of digital materials. Materials may specifically address
the new roles of information systems designers and suppliers, creators,
publishers, distributors and collectors in the preservation chain, or explore
broader models for cooperation and sharing of responsibilities.
Selection: This heading refers to the process of choosing digital
materials to which long-term access will be preserved.
Storage: Grouped in this category are resources examining the
strategies and methods for storing digital information to ensure its long-term
accessibility; selected materials may discuss the choice of media on which
information is to be stored, or consider the most appropriate format for
storing data on those media.
Technological obsolescence: Technological obsolescence is a
result of the evolution of technology, whereby existing processes and systems
become outmoded. Resources dealing with the impact of the evolution of
technology on the preservation of digital objects are included here.
Strategies
Digital preservation strategies: This category comprises general
resources about methods for preserving access to digital information.
Emulation: Resources included in this category pertain to
emulation, or the process of mimicking, in software, a piece of hardware or
software so that other processes think the original equipment or function is
still available in its original form; selected materials may discuss issues
relating to preservation of the functionality of, and access to, digital
information (which might otherwise be lost due to technological
obsolescence).
Encapsulation: This topic refers to the method of preserving
digital materials by grouping together a digital object with the accompanying
data necessary to provide access to that object.
Migration: The migration of digital information refers to the
transfer of data to new hardware or software configurations, for the purpose of
preserving access to information. As migrated copies are not always exactly the
same as original versions, chosen resources may consider which components of
the material to be migrated need to be preserved.
Intellectual Property Rights Management: This topic
deals with the intellectual property rights and copyright issues relating to
preserving access to digital information. As copyright restrictions can affect
the preservation of access to digital information by impeding the application
of preservation strategies, resources included here may consider the effect of
legislation on techniques such as migration and refreshing (both of which
involve copying of intellectual property).
Data Documentation & Standards
Metadata: Metadata is structured information that describes
resources. In PADI, this category is limited to resources relating to
preservation metadata; general metadata resources are only indexed if they are
key specifications, or if they provide some context for resources about
preservation metadata.
Preservation metadata: This topic refers to metadata created
specifically for preservation purposes; it can be contrasted with descriptive
metadata schemas such as MARC, which are used in the discovery and
identification of digital objects. Largely administrative in nature,
preservation metadata is used for the description of technical information
supporting preservation decisions and action; accordingly, metadata types
discussed under this heading may document preservation strategies, or note
information about collection and rights management.
Persistent identifiers: Persistent and unique identifiers
preserve access to Internet resources, regardless of the resources actual
location on the Web; materials in this category selected for PADI may deal with
the various methods of using identifiers to ensure long-term access to, and
preservation of, digital materials.
Standards: Relevant resources will be about the role of standards
in preserving access to digital information; or about standards which play this
role.
Formats & Media
Email: Indexed here are resources relating to the long-term
retention of communications that are sent or received via an electronic
messaging system; selected materials should explore the preservation of access
of electronic personal records, and may include discussions of email as
evidence, strategies to ensure authenticity, and methods for the active
preservation of records of enduring value.
Audio and audiovisual material: This category is used for
resources discussing the special challenges of preserving access to digital
sound, moving image, audiovisual and multimedia material.
Physical format digital material: Physical format digital
material is information in digital form which is stored on transportable media,
eg. floppy disks, magnetic tape, CDs and DVDs. Relevant resources may deal with
the technical concerns of media instability, technological change, metadata,
migration and emulation; other resources may focus on management issues
affecting long-term preservation such as legal deposit, copyright, access,
licensing, collection development and cataloguing.
Optical disks: A category referring to digital information
preserved on optical disks such as CD-R, CD-ROM and DVD. Existing resources in
this category explore the problems of media deterioration and technological
obsolescence, and comment on preservation strategies to overcome these
problems.
Magnetic media: This topic encompasses magnetic devices used to
store digital data, such as visual and audiotapes and floppy disks; relevant
resources may address methods of prolonging the life of information on current
physical carriers, and techniques to guarantee access in a changing
technological environment.
Networked digital information: This topic refers to the various
forms of information accessible through a communications network such as the
Internet; examples include web documents, Internet
publications or online materials.
National Approaches
Managing national collections of electronic publications: At
present this topic is limited to specially commissioned summary reports from
six national libraries in Australia, Canada, Finland, Germany, The Netherlands
and the United Kingdom. The papers record each institutions progress in
designing and building systems for the handling of electronic publications.
Reports from other countries are encouraged.
Legal deposit: This category is used for information about the
legal deposit of digital publications in individual countries and the impact of
legal deposit legislation on the preservation of digital information.
National strategies: Indexed under this heading are materials
describing specifically national responses to the management and preservation
of digital information; such initiatives are usually led by a national library,
archive or similar organisation, and the resultant strategies are often
documented in the form of plans, guidelines, or policy statements.
Digitisation
Digitisation refers to the conversion of non-digital material to digital
form (that is, a form which uses a binary numerical code to represent
variables). Selected resources will document digitisation or digital imaging
where attention is given to long-term access requirements. Resources which do
not consider preservation or broadly describe digitisation procedures should
not be added to PADI.
Digital records
This topic applies to the digital or electronic records that preserve
the evidence of past and current policy, procedures, actions and decisions for
future access and analysis; sub-topics include discussions of strategies and
systems which guarantee the authenticity and retrievability of records in order
to maintain their value as evidence.
Digital libraries
Digital library research encompasses a broad range of issues associated
with preserving access to digital information. Only resources which deal with
the long-term access issues surrounding digital libraries should be
selected.
Management
Digital preservation management has been broadly defined 'as the managed
activities necessary for ensuring the long-term retention and continued
accessibility of digital materials' (Preservation Management of Digital
Materials: A Handbook). Digital preservation managers must deal with issues
such as technological awareness, decision-making, planning, leadership,
monitoring and accountability, and resource and skills management.
Resources indexed under this topic are those concerning the
establishment and management of digital preservation programs at a broad level.
Resources pertaining to the management of specific processes are covered under
the corresponding topic, and preservation managers will need to acquaint
themselves with all relevant resources on PADI.
For more detailed guidance, please refer to the
Digital Preservation Topics section of the PADI website.
Last updated: 30 July 2002
NATIONAL LIBRARY OF AUSTRALIA, Canberra, ACT 2600, AUSTRALIA
Telephone + 61 2 6262 1111; Facsimile +61 2 6257 1703; Telephone Typewriter
Number: 1800 026 372
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