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| Image Source: RMIT University Archives |
Australasia Preserves
New Professionals in digital archives and preservation meetup
Thu 23/11/2023 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM
73 registrations, 44 participants
Jesse Dyer (University of Melbourne Archives) hosted a fabulous Australasia Preserves meetup this month. For anyone starting out in the field, or who may be thinking about it, this presentation and panel discussion was an excellent opportunity to learn more and ask questions in a safe, friendly and open environment. As usual, we started with an acknowledgment of country which was delivered by Jaye Weatherburn. Jesse then introduced the speakers (below) and spoke about the work he’s been doing and what he’s learnt. Jesse has been working on UMA's migration to a new archival documentation management system and a new data model. He stressed that the right system should preserve contextual information which is so important when preserving digital records. Finally, Jesse facilitated an excellent panel discussion and Q&A session with the broader group.
Nicola Caldwell (Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library New Zealand, Aotearoa)
Nicola spoke about physical carriers and hardware, her work in social media archiving, and learning about and interacting with physical hardware which you haven't grown up with. Nicola has an academic background, started her career in another area of the Library, and has been a digital archivist for a year. Her training has been on the job and via online courses and webinars. Nicola reflected on the technologies she’s worked with including CDs, DVDs and hard drives, which she was familiar with being a child of the 90s, however her technical know-how of using obsolete carriers had to be learned on the job. Nicola talked about imaging 5½ inch floppy discs, getting audio files off old drives, and collecting from social media platforms about covid and disasters - the technical barriers, legal constraints, and the often blurry line between private and public. Nicola noted that some of the ways we’ve collected in the past are no longer possible. She’s particularly interested in the people aspect of the job, nostalgia, and learning about new technologies. Nicola explained how her skills are always evolving and that she’s forever grateful for user forums and documentation shared publicly. Going forward, one of the challenges that intrigues Nicola is how we collect not only digital content but the way in which people used it. "The human desire to create will always be a thread and reason for our preservation work".
Bryony Cavallaro, State Library of New South Wales (SLNSW)
Bryony’s talk centred around her work on physical carriers and hardware, and moving digital files from physical carriers
onto a network drive so that they can eventually be preserved in Rosetta. Bryony has been the Digital
Archives Assistant at SLNSW since
July 2023, is finishing her Masters at Charles Sturt, and
has also completed a placement with Cynde Moya at the Centre for Transformative Media Technologies, Swinburne University. Bryony notes that this work placement ‘opened doors’ for her. In her role at SLNSW, Bryony works directly with physical
carriers, CDs, DVDs, floppy discs, and transferring data into Rosetta. She documents contextual information, ensures fixity, runs DROID etc., and preserves software. Bryony spoke about how AusEaaSI - the Australian Emulation Network group - is integral
for emulation work. She talked about some of the decisions that go into
preserving both the content and context of images. Bryony is especially interested in preserving
complex digital art and games, and worries that the works of artists and game developers
will be lost.
Susannah Bourke, State Library of Victoria (SLV)
Susannah presented about her work at SLV in consolidating their 'digital backlog' including working with existing legacy collections on share drives - getting basic control, prioritising collections, testing, tracking, processing in a collection management system - and communicating plans to stakeholders. She started in her current role looking after born digital collections in December 2022. Before this, Susannah studied visual art (like so many of her excellent peers in the field), information management, and worked in a graduate position in the Descriptions team at SLV. The SLV have been collecting digital material since at least 2000. As part of the Digital Preservation team, Susannah has worked on several projects including: a consolidation of data on the network (backlog); setting up a digital asset register and linking digital assets to provenance; and, developing workflows. Susannah has also developed a process to queue collections for ingest which is in it's pilot phase. She makes sure she constantly documents her work. The team uses a SharePoint site, an asset register and FRED. The SLV recently changed their Library Management System (LMS) from Voyager to Alma, and found that trying to get people to do more work is challenging. She's grateful for her knowledgeable colleagues: "Carey Garvie has taught me to use visual diagrams to communicate".
Cassie Shaw (RMIT University Archives)
The final speaker, Cassie Shaw, spoke about RMIT Library's Digital Preservation Strategy, and engaging with stakeholders across the university. Cassie commenced her role as a Digital Archivist at RMIT in 2023, and is studying her Masters at Charles Sturt. Like many other organisations, the digital archivist role is relatively new at RMIT - about a year old - and Cassie said that it has been a steep learning curve for her. She gave us some background information about the significant gaps in RMIT's collections coinciding with the advent of the digital era, and how an Audit recommended the development of a strategy as a response. Cassie is on the team developing the Digital Archiving Strategy which will map out what’s in scope, recommendations, and resources needed (long term rather than project funding). Endorsement from leadership and other key stakeholders was the first important step. Then the team surveyed people across the university about what they have, how they’re managing it, their concerns, what they’d like to see. People want to preserve their stories, not just keep records for compliance. They are keen to do the right thing, but need clear direction and to be supported. Cassie stated that the survey was an opportunity to build awareness about digital preservation as well as gathering evidence to support the strategy. "I thought I’d be focussed on the technical side, but communications and advocacy has been just as important".Panel discussion and questions
What skills do you think are essential to have in the digital archiving / preservation field?
Bryony - an appetite for repetition and a tolerance for failure. You need to stop sometimes, take a step back, come back to it later. Nicola - don’t be afraid to reach out, ask questions. Cassie - excel skills. Having an elevator pitch. Being able to communicate and advocate. Susannah - not being afraid to try new things. Jesse - being OK with repetition, and working out when to automate.
I'm working on literature review to see whether digital preservation is embedded in Masters and Doctorate research courses. Do you know of any?
Cassie - not other than my own Masters, however in talking to people across RMIT (Deans) there is an appetite for students to develop skills in managing their data and information over time. Bryony - there is a gap due to the newness of the field, the textbook we use in my Masters course is dated 2018 which is a lifetime! There's a gap between knowing what needs to be done and what actually needs to be done. I gained experience in my placement, and have submitted a paper to A&M to be published early next year on the topic. Nicola - when I studied art we were told to save more than one copy. Recently I was invited to speak to a group of art students about looking after their own digital archives. Encouraging more outreach from courses is something we could be involved with. Sally O’Callaghan - At NAA (National Archives of Australia), we’re interviewing for a cadetship program with Charles Sturt. It’s very new, and will start next year.
Why are there are so many artists in digital preservation?
It can be a pathway in. You have an interest in preserving history and art, and things becoming obsolete. There's a relationship between creativity and wanting to preserve creative output.
Do you have any suggestions for getting started, small attainable steps?
Cassie - speak to people who are the decision makers, you need champions. Collaboration is everything, talking to IT and having them on board is foundational. Susannah - Having resources is crucial, we started with policy, framework, processes - and worked with highest risk stuff first. Nicola - Define the problem, so you can use it to communicate in an elevator pitch, gather people around you that you need to do that work. Bryony - decide what you want to prioritise, do an assessment first, prioritise, emphasise urgency.
Are there any professional development opportunities that have worked well for you?
Jesse - DPC training, Nicola - yep DPC training. And time to research and learn. Susannah - I’m so grateful to all the people and organisations that publish their workflows and obscure manuals. I would be lost without the communities of practice that publish their work. Bryony - I'm grateful to the youtubers with less than 100 followers who post obscure but essential workflows and practices.
What would be your dream project to work on?
Nicola - Working with more complex digital media, games, things with a strong creative reason to exist, and how people interact with it. Bryony - very similar to Nicola, to get to the point where we get into the ears of developers about their cultural responsibility. Susannah - we have procedures and policies in place, and documentation people can access. Cassie - building RMIT's program to be able to make sure that the stories are looked after, a functioning BAU. Jesse - mine is collecting memes, and documenting collection context.
What advice would you give to others who are considering a career in digital archiving or preservation?
Cassie - be curious, be open, read a lot. Make time to read across a lot of things. You need to be self-motivated. Don’t be afraid to ask, the DP community is supportive and generous. Bryony - I agree, don’t be afraid if you don’t know command line or of what you don't know, it's about your attitude to learning. As long as you have a willingness to learn and have a go, you can learn. Don't hesitate to ask if you don’t know. Susannah - if you have a hobby or interest, eg in art, experiment with your own stuff. A curiosity and openness to trying technical things. Nicola - putting your hands up for whatever opportunity comes your way. Once you have your foot in the door, talk to people, and show enthusiasm.
Join professional networks like Australasia Preserves!
Has there been anything that has surprised you about working in this field - something you didn’t expect?
Susannah - I was surprised how much chaos there was! Cassie - I get to work upstairs with daylight! I went into it with a completely open mind, I didn’t expect to be here. Nicola - how 'physical' digital things are, eg the sounds of disc spinning, I often wonder 'is it supposed to make that sound?' They are embodied sensory things, it's very tactile. Bryony - how a lot of preservation comes from a scientific or technical interest in saving objects as opposed to what the content is. Similar to Nicola, I was surprised with all the noises - I’ve had a CD work so hard it was vibrating, moving off the desk! Jesse - the collection material is always surprising, you may have your work flows but there are always edge cases.
THE END
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