Preservation of Digital Resources

Gulie, S. (1998, September). Saved: What death can't destroy and how to digitize it. Retrieved 18 March, 2000 from Wired Archive on the World Wide Web: http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/6.09/saved_pr.html

Once you have read this article, you remember it because it addresses, in a deeply personal way, one author's attempt to outline the preservation and authentication threats that apply to digital media. Steven Gulie's answer is to create many copies in many formats, not unlike the March 10, 2000 report in the Chronicle of Higher Education that describes the Stanford University Lots of Copies Keeps Stuff Safe project (LOCKSS) http://lockss.stanford.edu/

Rothenberg, J. (1995, January). Ensuring the longevity of digital documents. Scientific American, 272, 42-47.

A classic article addressing the topics of preservation and authentication authored by the man who observed that "digital information lasts forever--or five years, whichever comes first." This article was one of the first to propose the idea of emulation. Rothenberg further explores his emulation idea in Avoiding Technological Quicksand, a 1999 report prepared for the Council on Library and Information Resources http://www.clir.org/pubs/abstract/pub77.html Emulators are software programs that mimic the behavior of hardware and can be created to take the place of obsolete hardware.

Bearman, D. & Trant, J. (1998, June). Authenticity of digital resources: Towards a statement of requirements in the research process. Retrieved 11 March, 2000 from D-Lib Magazine on the World Wide Web: http://www.dlib.org/dlib/june98/06bearman.html

Concerns about authenticity of sources are not new and different, but they are further complicated by new digital formats that can be easily replicated to represent the same thing at many sites. Authenticity carries with it all the philosophical problems of truth, but in this article "authentic" means, "that which is unaltered from the original." Parallel to this, Bearman and Trant discuss the concepts of societal warrant and "evidence." This article attempts to draw the line between authenticity and integrity of information resources and the related discussion of authentication or access control.

Ketelaar, E. (1997, March). Can we trust information? Retrieved 21 February, 2000 from UNESCO Observatory on the Information Society reports on the First International Congress on Ethical, Legal, and Societal Aspects of Digital Information held at the Congress Center of Monte Carlo, Principality of Monaco, 10-12 March 1997 on the World Wide Web: http://www.unesco.org/webworld/infoethics/speech/ketelaar.htm

Ketelaar asks why we demand more of the quality of food or a car than we demand of information? Isn't information as important? Ketelaar explains that conditions must be met to ensure reliability and authenticity of information because these two elements determine credibility and usefulness of information. Ketelaar reveals that archivists do not consider each document on its own, but rather, they examine the entire business process that creates the document and the context. He explains the double context: (1) the transaction itself in the document and, (2) the link between all the records created and received in the course of the transaction.

Lynch, C. A. (1994, December). The integrity of digital information: Mechanics and definitional issues. Journal of the American Society for Information Science 45(10): 737-744.

Retrieved 18 March, 2000 from JASIS on the World Wide Web: http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/issuetoc?ID=10049987

Lynch tackles the issues of the role of information as "evidence" of events and the relationships between technology, information, reality, and history. The article discusses various tools and techniques proposed to address integrity issues and touches on intellectual property law and public policy for digital information.

Masse, D. G. (1997, November). The ABC's of authentication: A is for atom, B is for bit, and C is for care. Retrieved on 18 March, 2000 from the Official Version of the National Summit to Solve the Problems of Authenticating, Preserving, and Citing Legal Information in Digital Form held 20-22 November, 1997 in Toronto, Canada, on the World Wide Web: http://www.callacbd.ca/summit/index.html

This author explores the nature of digital records and authentication, particularly as they relate to legal information. He briefly discusses a large number of aspects including digital watermarking, digital signatures, cryptography, open networks, and his notions of how analog processes for authentication hold up when using digital media.

Intellectual Preservation

Smith, A. (1999, February). Why digitize? Retrieved 17 February, 2000 from the Council on Library and Information Resources on the World Wide Web: http://www.clir.org/pubs/reports/pub80-smith/pub80.html

Smith tells us that although much research is being conducted toward solving the problem of the "stunning fidelity" of digital cloning, there is no solution yet. She recommends that libraries continue to be responsible custodians of analog holdings using preservation methods such as microfilming to ensure the longevity of imperiled information. In her discussion, she argues that the researcher in Alaska looking at the New York Public Library's Digital Schomburg site to verify independently that any given image is a faithful reproduction of the original would have a difficult time of it. The relationship of the institution to the expectations and confidence in the "integrity" of resources is critical.

Mitchell, W. J. (1992). The reconfigured eye: Visual truth in the post-photographic era. Cambridge, MA.: MIT Press.

For some, the photograph is proof. But today, the capabilities to alter the image bring this "proof" into question and pose new dilemmas for researchers to sort through. Does the image have a verifiable provenance that can establish authenticity? Are images that have been synthesized by application of special procedures to the data the original images or copies? How can we protect the tag line that records the time and date of creation of the image in the data file and is it even possible to authenticate the provenance of a digital image? Mitchell addresses these concerns and many more in this frequently referenced resource.

Metadata Formats

Day, M. (1998, August). Metadata for preservation: CEDARS project document AIW01 Retrieved 18 March, 2000 from CEDARS on the World Wide Web: http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/metadata/cedars/AIW01.html

This report is a review of metadata formats and initiatives in digital preservation. It supplements the DESIRE Review of metadata (Dempsey, et al. 1997). It is based on a literature review and information derived from a number of workshops. It covers formats such as the Universal Preservation Format (UPF), the Dublin Core, the Pittsburgh Functional Requirements for Recordkeeping Project, work from the Research Libraries Group, and other significant projects. A follow-on project report is now available http://users.ox.ac.uk/~cedars/Papers/AIW02.html and an excellent overview of multiple metadata schemes is available at http://ukoln.bath.ac.uk/metadata/resources/

Risks of Computing

ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy. The risks digest: Forum on risks to the public in computers and related systems. Retrieved 1 April, 2000 from the World Wide Web: http://catless.ncl.ac.uk/Risks/

This is an Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) forum on the risks of computing to the public which hints at the scope of the possible problems. Highly provocative examples are extracted from the press around the world covering a time frame that extends back to 1985. This forum is moderated by Peter G. Neumann who is a principal scientist at SRI International Computer Science Laboratory. His research interests include secure systems. He maintains a condensed "oneliner" digest of the Risks Digest that can be browsed at http://www.csl.sri.com/neumann/illustrative.html

Hatton L. (1999, July 1). Repetitive failure, feedback and the lost art of diagnosis. Journal of Systems and Software 47(2-3), 183-188. Retrieved 1 April, 2000 from UTNetCAT on the World Wide Web: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/01641212

Hatton urges software designers to incorporate a feature called "diagnosis" into systems design. The author's contention is that failure to diagnose the patterns and relationships of faults and failures results in repeated failures and that this is unnecessary. The solutions involve better training for software designers and more attention to measurement strategy, testing strategy, and design of graceful recovery mechanisms.

Jacky, J. (1996). Safety-critical computing: Hazards, practices, standards, and regulation. In Rob Kling (Ed.), Computerization and controversy: Value conflicts and social choices. (2^nd ed., pp. 767-792). San Diego: Academic Press.

Seemingly trivial mistakes can have horrible consequences. Accidents can be the result of human error, software error, or simply due to the fact that errors are left in the software. This article discusses primarily medical applications and the Therac-25 accidents which remain the best-known examples in the public record of computer-related death and injuries. These accidents raise the question of regulation and acceptable practice in software engineering. The Therac-25 accidents are further documented in Levenson, N., & Turner, C. S. (1993). An investigation of the Therac-25 accidents. IEEE Computer, 26(7), 18-41.

Two disasters caused by computer arithmetic errors. Retrieved 30 March, 2000 from the Pennsylvania State University, Department of Mathematics, on the World Wide Web: http://www.math.psu.edu/dna/455.f96/disasters.html

This is a short web page and is very technical in nature - it is part of the site for the class in numerical analysis at Penn State Department of Mathematics. It demonstrates the obscure level of expertise and minute detail on which the safety and lives of people can depend.

Grosvenor, L. J. (1999). Software usability: Challenging the myths and assumptions in an emerging field. Master's thesis, University of Texas at Austin.

Ms. Grosvenor tested the "five-user assumption" credited to Jakob Nielsen and his well-known book, Usability Engineering published in 1993. She describes the five-user assumption as "a legend born of research." It is the common belief that it takes only five users to test the usability of an interface. Grosvenor believes this belief can more accurately be attributed to Robert A. Virzi, who in 1992 wrote an article that addresses the number of subjects required to identify usability problems; (Refining the test phase of usability evaluation: How many subjects is enough? Human Factors, 34(4), 457-468). Grosvenor recommends risk management strategies for usability that can increase the chance of more usable products and more efficient software organizations at the end of her study. "Fallibility is part of the human condition and reason proposes that the best way to reduce errors is to provide information, since a lack of information is at the heart of most human error."

Landauer, T. K. (1995). The trouble with computers: Usefulness, usability, and productivity. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Discusses user centered design and gives references to other research and examples of successful and less successful projects. Landauer sets the blame for productivity failings squarely on issues in software development, and goes on to say what software engineering practitioners should do to correct the situation.

Norman, D. A. (1988). Design of everday things. New York: Doubleday.

This is a widely read and engaging book that is also known under the title The Psychology of Everyday Things. Norman illustrates that much of our frustration with technology is the result of poorly designed objects that do not function according to the way that the human brain operates. This author provides an engaging set of illustrations and prose about usability. He uses both research and personal experiences to make his points about usability come alive.

Discussion Questions

The class discussion for April 12, 2000 will focus on two topics.

1. Authenticity of digital records will concentrate on the issues surrounding the integrity of the digital record and how that integrity can be preserved and carried forward. For this discussion, please read two articles:

• Eric Ketelaar's short "Can We Trust Information"
• Clifford Lynch's exploration "The Integrity of Digital Information: Mechanics and Definitional Issues.

1. Risks and failures of computing will concentrate on usability factors and the risks inherent in software engineering. For this discussion, please read the Hatton article and explore The Risks Digest selecting one example from that forum to talk about in class.

• Les Hatton's "Repetitive Failure, Feedback and the Lost Art of Diagnosis
• The Risks Digest at http://catless.ncl.ac.uk/Risks/

We suspect our discussion will be free-flowing, but please consider the following questions as you read and explore these topics:

1. Authenticity of paper records has been a concern throughout the ages. What new risks do we introduce with electronic records? Are some agencies more trustworthy as authentication entities than others, and do or should those agencies include publishers? What is the role of the library, the archival institution, and government in creating and sustaining the public trust in the record?
2. What levels of assurance are necessary to trust the electronic record as evidence? How do you handle the chain of control and authority and, how do you create an environment of trust when intermediaries are involved?
3. Authenticity has been described as a technology + policy? What should policy discussions include about how our government can provide assurances of authenticity of government records? Who are the key informants that you recommend be involved in this discussion?
4. Should we be concentrating effort on creating reliable records, rather than figuring out how to secure and preserve the digital record? What are the relationships that you see between preservation, metadata, and context?
5. "We require certification for doctors, lawyers, architects, civil engineers, aircraft pilots, automobile drivers, and even hair stylists! Why not software engineers?" comments one author (Jacky). Others argue that the way to get quality is not through regulation, but through managing better. What systems do we need to put in place to assure ourselves that human fallibility is kept to a minimum? What would Zuboff say?
6. What striking examples of failure have you found and lived to talk about?