Publications

This report sets out the components developed during the course of the PLANETS project to extract and evaluate digital object properties, gives recommendations for future work, and in it’s Appendix, illustrates through a use case how these components might be used [PDF, 398KB]

The State and University Library, Denmark holds some of the oldest sound recordings in the world. The Library has a legal responsibility to preserve these media which need to be digitised as some of the originals are fragile, and in some case, no longer playable. The archive is a valuable and well-used source for research and education.

The Library is implementing a new Digital Object Management System (DOMS), with Fedora Commons at its core, to replace over forty legacy repositories in its digital collection. This case study considers how the Library will first characterise and validate the wide variety of file formats, using Planets, so they can be permitted to be stored in DOMS for long-term preservation. [PDF, 1862KB]

In June 2009, Planets carried out a series of 18 face-to-face and telephone interviews with some of the world’s leading IT companies. The interviews explored interviewees’ perceptions of the emerging market-place for digital preservation tools and services. Results confirm engagement is being led by memory institutions and driven primarily by legislation. Elsewhere, however, there is confusion over what digital preservation is and what it entails. Comprehensive policies and long-term budgets to cover preservation of digital collections are not yet the norm. Despite this, there are common expectations about what a digital library system should do; specifically in relation to the type of content it should be able to manage, scalability and the need to comply with international standards. There is perceived high demand for technology to support automation of digital preservation processes and for consultancy, training, awareness-raising and exchange of best practice. [PDF, 50KB]

The National Archives of the Netherlands is the largest public archives in the Netherlands and the custodian of the national record of Dutch Government. Increasingly, these records are digital, and are being housed in the National Archive's custom-built e-Depot. Since 2002, the National Archives has carried out research into the feasibility of strategies to preserve different types of digital objects. This case study considers the appropriateness of emulation to preserve dynamic records such as spreadsheets and databases where migration is not a suitable option. [PDF, 525KB]

The Royal Library in Copenhagen is the National Library of Denmark. In 2008, it merged with the Danish Folklore Archives. As a result, the Royal Library has need to ingest a rapidly growing collection of materials from published works, manuscripts, documents and maps to pictures, photographs and music representing Danish folklore and that of other parts of the world. This case study examines how the two institutions have used Planets characterisation and planning tools to profile digital objects before transferring them to the Royal Library's digital preservation store. [PDF, 1513KB]