Down the Rabbit Hole: Data Normalization, Migrations and Access within a Digital Preservation Framework

A presentation to the Digital Library Federation (DLF) in Milwaukee, WI on November 7, 2016 that addresses data wrangling efforts, the creation of workflows, and the challenges encountered while preparing resources for migration. A review of the de-duplication efforts, development of a collection assessment tool and its implementation, and techniques to transform, normalizes, and link metadata to the accompanying digital resources will be discussed.

MOMMMA: Master Objects Migration and Metadata Mapping Activity—A Presentation to CPN-DAM, a virtual conference of the Central Plains Network for Digital Asset Management on November 17, 2016.

So you’ve got nearly 2 million digital files from 8 collecting units with minimum, scattered or unknown metadata—how do you prepare to migrate those objects into a digital preservation repository that acts as a “light archive” providing access to your digital collections? This presentation will delve into data wrangling efforts, the creation of workflows, and the challenges encountered while preparing digital resources for migration from a limited access FTP server into a preservation environment created in FEDORA, layered with Hydra heads for access and other functional requirements. We will discuss project planning, the de-duplication efforts, development of a collection assessment tool and its implementation that allows us to prioritize migration efforts, as well as techniques used to transform, normalize, restructure, and link metadata to the accompanying digital resources.

The Society of American Archivists’ Research Forum has been successful in attracting a significant number of participants from a diverse set of backgrounds and in situations over the past ten years. If it can improve in one area, it would be that of building upon that diversity, and actively encouraging, facilitating and/or enabling more non-academic-related participation. The Forum is successful due in part to the currency of the topics presented, which have not been forced by pre-ordained categories. The topics range from the exotic, such as alternative media types and “big data” to the mundane (but fundamental) topics of access and description and archival management. Further, each presentation gets its spot in the sunshine, and is not forced to compete with another session. Congratulations on your first decade! And here’s to your second! The whole of my presentation is at: The Research Forum @ 10: Observations.

The presentation “Hindsights & Fresh Perspectives: Records retention @ “the” OSU and the IUC” I gave at the annual meeting of the Society of American Archivists as a member of the panel,
Hindsights and Fresh Perspectives: Records Management Programs Learn from Each Other.