dec04d.indd


P r e s e r v a t i o n  N e w s  Jane
Hedberg


PREMIS report 
PREservation Metadata: Implementation 
Strategies (PREMIS), a working group jointly 
sponsored by the OCLC Online Computer 
Library, Inc. (OCLC) and the Research Librar­
ies Group, Inc. (RLG), has published “Imple­
menting Preservation Repositories For Digital 
Materials: Current Practice and Emerging 
Trends in the Cultural Heritage Community.” 
This report summarizes the results of a survey 
conducted among international libraries, ar­
chives, and other types of cultural institutions 
during the winter of 2003–04. 

Survey questions cover mission, services, 
models, policies, system architecture, stor­
age, preservation strategies, access policies, 
funding, and preservation metadata manage­
ment. Forty­eight institutions completed the 
survey, describing what they are doing and 
plan to do with their digital repositories. This 
report focuses on metadata management, 
and, although the respondents handle their 
metadata in various ways, some practices that 
are becoming more widespread are described 
in the conclusion of the report. 

One trend is to store metadata in both a da­
tabase, for easy access and reporting, and with 
the objects, so they are self­defi ning. Another 
is to maintain the original object, plus multiple 
digital versions each with its own metadata, 
and to choose multiple preservation strategies 
to insure against loss. A third is to use OAIS 
as a starting point for repository design, METS 
for structural metadata, and Z39.87/MIX for 
technical metadata for still images. 

The report is available as a free 668K/66 
page PDF at www.oclc.org/research/proj­
ects/pmwg/surveyreport.pdf. For more in­
formation about PREMIS, consult www.oclc. 
org/research/projects/pmwg/default.htm. For 
a brief article describing the work of PREMIS 
and this report, consult the October 15, 2004, 
issue of RLG DigiNews at www.rlg.org/en/ 
page.php?Page_ID=20462#article2. 

Jane
 Hedberg
 is
 preservation
 program
 officer
 at
 Harvard
 

University
Library,
e-mail:
jane_hedberg@harvard.edu;
fax:


(617)
496-8344


ARL endorses digitization 
The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) 
has issued a paper, “Recognizing Digitization 
as a Preservation Reformatting Method.” It was 
prepared for ARL’s Preservation of Research 
Library Materials Committee by Kathleen Ar­
thur, Sherry Byrne, Elisabeth Long, and Judith 
Nadler (of the University of Chicago), and 
Carla Montori (University of Michigan). The 
document supports multifaceted and respon­
sive preservation programs that can accom­
modate a variety of reformatting strategies. 

To quote the paper, “The Association of 
Research Libraries endorses digitization as an 
accepted preservation reformatting option for a 
range of materials. ARL encourages its members 
and others engaged in digital reformatting and 
those interested in initiating these activities to 
make an organizational and economic commit­
ment to adhere to accepted standards and best 
practices, and to establish policies and the capacity 
to maintain digital products for the long­term.” 

The 17­page paper is available as a free 
PDF at www.arl.org/preserv/digi_preserv. 
pdf and a free HTML document at www.arl. 
org/preserv/digit_fi nal.html. 

Audio preservation 
The Council on Library and Information Re­
sources (CLIR) has published “Survey of the 
State of Audio Collections in Academic Librar­
ies,” by Abby Smith, David Randall Allen, and 
Karen Allen. A 100­question survey covering 
all areas of audio collection stewardship was 
administered in 2003 to 18 ARL members and 
51 college libraries from the Oberlin Group. 
The results highlight the value of these col­
lections and the serious access, preservation, 
and copyright issues that complicate their 
management. Lack of funding, lack of expert 
staff, complex reformatting technologies, and 
unclear digital distribution rights are major 
obstacles to audio use and preservation. 

The report is available as a free 59­page 
PDF at www.clir.org/pubs/reports/pub128 
/pub128.pdf. To purchase printed copies for 
$20 each, consult www.clir.org/pubs/abstract 
/pub128abst.html. 

716 / C&RL NewsDecember 2004 

www.clir.org/pubs/abstract
www.clir.org/pubs/reports/pub128
www.arl.org/preserv/digi_preserv
mailto:jane_hedberg@harvard.edu
www.rlg.org/en
www.oclc
www.oclc.org/research/proj