introduction to the ctda
TRANSCRIPT
The Connecticut Digital Archive:Preservation and Presentation Services for Cultural Heritage Organizations
March, 2014
The Dilemma of Modern Records
How do we insure that resources that exist in digital form
today will reliably exist and be accessible in the future?
2???2014
??
• Digital representations of analog originals
• Born digital objects with no inherent “original “form
• Still Images
• Data Sets
• Documents
• Moving Images
• Complex objects
Digital repositories organize data…
..allow it to be used in
one environment …
… and reused in
another.
-James Gleick, The Information: A History, A Theory, A Flood (2011)
"When it was made simple, counted in bits,
information was found to be everywhere”
"It is not just about the data, it is about the story"
-Arianna Huffington (2012)
Content = Data
Analog = Non-existent
Unconnected = Invisible
Reuseable = Valuable
Storytelling = Visualization
Five Equations of the Cultural Record
Four “-ities” of Digital Repositories
• Sustainability
The digital object can be maintained and accessed over
time
• Authenticity
The digital object is reliably true to the original
• Interoperability
The ability of one standards-based object to be used in any
other standards-based system
• Reusability
Objects can be used in ways not related to original purpose
Connecticut’s digital cultural heritage is:
• Ephemeral
• Fragmented
• Not easily discoverable or reusable
What is the CTDA?
• A service of the University of Connecticut Libraries
• A partnership with the Connecticut State Library
• Preserves, manages, and makes available
permanently valuable digital data produced and
collected at UConn, Connecticut State agencies, and
cultural heritage organizations throughout the state
• The service hub in Connecticut for the Digital Public
Library of America
Use Only What You Need:
• No particular administrative workflow or end-user
application is assumed or required.
• No particular catalog or organizational scheme is
assumed or required.
• Any number of indices and views, designed for specific
purposes, both administrative and public facing, can be
applied to any pattern of components or objects.
Content in Action
UConn Archives CT State Library CHO Alternate Presentation Layer(s)
Alternate Management Layer(s)
Preservation Services*
• Secure, redundant storage
• up to 500GB without charge
• Preservation activities
• Migration (for supported file types)
• Verification
• Authenticity guarantees
*Note: Some services are fee-based
Presentation Services*
• Viewers for supported file types
• Web search engine indexing
• OAI-PMH harvesting
• Indexing in the Digital Public Library of America
• Inclusion in Connecticut History Online (for content you specify)
• Open APIs for indexing, content extraction, and viewer re-use
• Islandora site scoped to organizational content
*Note: Some services are fee-based
Ownership vs Stewardship
• Organizations retain ownership of all metadata, primary
content objects and derivatives.
• Metadata contributed as a CC0 license
• Content objects and derivatives may have access
restrictions—to master files for example
• Administrative interface available for managing content
