SGER: In Vivo Digital Preservation

Old Dominion University Research Foundation, Norfolk VA

Investigators

Abstract

The proposal addresses digital preservation by exploring how to make data objects capable of self-conversion and translation in new environments. The project will address a wide range of topics: digital object metadata formats and format migration services (as well as the languages that express these); object repository interactions; novel adaptation, integration and deployment; and, importantly, frameworks and testbeds for measuring the preservation effectiveness. The approach encourages content creators to design features to ensure preservability of digital objects at the time of their creation as well as efficient means to add self-preserving characteristics to existing digital materials. The project will include a series of longitudinal experiments about preservation in general as self-preserving digital objects are integrated into selective undergraduate computer science courses at Old Dominion University. A complimentary relationship between preservation and software engineering will be stressed over the four-year course of study. The experiences reported by the students will contribute to the evaluation of the experiments.