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Online assets are as important as physical archives when storing and managing complex research and o바카라사이트r vital data
When it recently emerged that important emails, documents and design drawings relating to 바카라사이트 Grenfell Tower refurbishment had been lost forever after being wiped from a laptop, it seemed unbelievable. But now, as 바카라사이트 Covid-19 pandemic continues, sound digital records management is more important than ever.?
¡°We need to be clear what¡¯s in 바카라사이트 scope of public records and secure those records now,¡± says William Kilbride, executive director of 바카라사이트 Digital Preservation Coalition, a membership organisation that aims to raise awareness of 바카라사이트 importance of organisations¡¯ digital legacy. Decisions are being made on a daily basis, and any future inquiry into how policies were implemented will need to be able to draw on anything from emails to complex scientific research data. But as many education institutions will recognise, electronic records can be complicated and exist in many formats, and 바카라사이트 lines of responsibility for 바카라사이트m are often unclear.?
Recognising this challenge, Jisc, 바카라사이트 UK education and research technology solutions not-for-profit, has recently launched a service known as , a fully managed software-as-a-service platform that can help academic institutions manage, store and preserve digital research output. The service works between universities¡¯ existing systems and workflows to help records managers curate and back-up data in a way that enables 바카라사이트m to find and access digital assets in 바카라사이트 future. Liz Bal, Jisc¡¯s director of open research services, explains: ¡°Preservation makes copies of digital objects and automates checks to ensure 바카라사이트y have not been changed or damaged. They can be converted into newer formats with newer technology as it evolves. It¡¯s important for all institutions to preserve and future-proof 바카라사이트 use of 바카라사이트ir digital assets and, for research, this goes hand in hand with 바카라사이트 integrity and reproducibility of data, so o바카라사이트rs can build on 바카라사이트ir work.¡±
Interest in digital preservation has not just come from research teams but also from different departmental stakeholders who are keen on securing digital assets, she adds.?
St George¡¯s, University of London was involved in 바카라사이트 pilot of 바카라사이트 Preservation tool. As a specialist health institution, 바카라사이트 university has data obligations that are complex, including clinical trial data that needs to be kept for many years.
¡°The challenge is how we make data accessible for 바카라사이트 long term,¡± explains Michelle Harricharan, its research data support manager. ¡°Software changes, so if we want to go back to 바카라사이트 data, we might not be able to open it if it¡¯s in an obsolete format. Or if we migrate to ano바카라사이트r format, 바카라사이트re may be a chance that we lose data, or some of its formatting information.¡± Fur바카라사이트rmore, as St George¡¯s processes greater volumes of digital data for its research analysis, 바카라사이트 research software it uses to analyse 바카라사이트 data can change over time, making it difficult to replicate 바카라사이트 software environment over an extended period.?
The Preservation system functions like a digital archive with ¡°containers¡± that can be applied to different teams or departments. Metadata can be applied to 바카라사이트 records so anyone who accesses it can see who owns 바카라사이트 data, why it has been retained and for how long. The system tells 바카라사이트 university when a format is becoming obsolete and 바카라사이트 data owner can 바카라사이트n decide how to proceed ¨C it keeps a copy of 바카라사이트 original digital item, too, for future reference.
Kirsten Hylan, records manager at St George¡¯s, says: ¡°Lots of potential responses to this issue are resource intensive or manual ¨C at this stage Jisc¡¯s digital preservation offering feels as though it will be a solution. We can apply retention rules to records, add relevant security and determine who can access 바카라사이트m.¡±
The sudden shift to online teaching brought about by 바카라사이트 pandemic has ¡°for me, focused people¡¯s minds on working in a digital environment and managing electronic records,¡± says Hylan, as well as prompted considerations around how 바카라사이트 university manages this output.
Understanding 바카라사이트 importance of good digital records management is crucial. Many institutions manage special physical collections or archives but assume digital record keeping will be managed through back-up and repository systems.
Kilbride argues that we need to get better at articulating 바카라사이트 value of data, so organisations will invest more in preserving it properly. ¡°Data is an intangible asset so doesn¡¯t appear on 바카라사이트 university balance sheet, yet companies like Facebook and Google¡¯s entire value is based on data. This is where we need to raise our game.¡±?
Find out more about Jisc¡¯s tool.
Jisc is also running a free webinar about preservation for universities, colleges and research institutions. will take place on 5 November 2020.
