U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey John Faundeen October 9, 2011 Future Directions in Data Preservation ^ and Current Outline Context What to Keep How to Decide? Preservation Strategies For Today & Tomorrow Take Home USGS EROS : Science : To promote applications, knowledge and use of land information to better understand our planet : Data Access : To ensure that scientists, businesses, decision makers and the public have ready access to land information : Data Acquisition/Archiving : To expand and safeguard the national archive of remotely sensed land data Established in 1973 Archiving Earth Image Records Digital Archives 1972 to Present 1 to 2 Terabytes / Day Over 5 Petabytes 45 million E-Records Film Archives 1939 to Present 24 Major Collections Multiple film formats/sizes Over 8 million frames 1991 2009 EROS Archives Include Elevation Land Cover LIDAR What to Keep How to Decide? Tool Gaining Acceptance Appraisal - Placing a Value on a Collection Hard Work Open to Criticism Why go Through it? Accountability Documentation Alignment Frequent Offers Budget Shrinkage Manage the Right Datasets Appraisal The Process Document What is Known (Offers & Existing) 42 Questions Mission Alignment Matches Agency & Center Goals Access & Distribution Characteristics Public Domain, Restricted, Copyrighted, etc. Spatial/Temporal Elements Length of Record, Land Focus Physical Characteristics Digital/Analog, Volume, Compression, Condition, Processing Metadata Quality, Quantity, Usability Economic Consideration Costs to Preserve and Make Accessible NARA Best Practice Appraisal The Process Output Provided to Scientists Reviewer(s) Must Have Relevant Experience Scientists Free to Comment on any Element Must Address 3 Questions: 1) Is there another organization within the scientific community that might benefit from or have an interest in these records? 2) What were the original scientific uses for these records? 3) What may be future scientific uses of these records? Appraisal Results 2005 to 2011 57 Appraisals Completed 39 Retain/Accept 17 Dispose/Not Accept 1 Recommendation Not Accepted Disposals Start an Additional Process Destruction as Last Resort Some Collections Appraised Landsat MSS, TM, ETM+ Apollo, Gemini, Large Format Camera DOQs, DEMs (tiles), DLGs, DRGs, DOQ Counties Preservation Strategies For Today & Tomorrow Migration of Electronic Media Including Hard Disks Obsolescence HW, SW, Firmware, Media Within a 3-5 Year Period UK Report 2 Years Migration of Non-Electronic Media Obsolescence Nitrate, Acetate Base Improve Access Preservation Strategies For Today & Tomorrow USGS Offline Archive Media Trade Study 6 th Report Released October 2010 Publically Available 7 th Report Summer 2012 Identifies Media and Criteria Cost/Time Scenarios NARA Best Practice Preservation Strategies For Today & Tomorrow Environmental Management Data Loggers for Temperature and Relative Humidity Regular Intervals (e.g. every 30 minutes) Preservation Strategies For Today & Tomorrow Environmental Management NARA Guidance Preservation Strategies For Today & Tomorrow 3-Copies Different Medias Risk Mitigation Off-Site Copy Critical With Metadata Reachable Feasible Today One View Take Home Appraisal as a Management Tool Justification / Accountability Decisions Documented Budget Enabler Preservation is an Ongoing Effort Media Migrations Must Plan for Media Studies to Keep Abreast Temperature & Humidity Tracking a Key Affordable Prudent Copy Strategy