David Minor

NDIIPP Models for Mass Data Transmission and Storage

Preservation of digital content into the future will rely on the ability of institutions to provide robust system infrastructures that leverage the use of distributed and shared services and tools. The academic, nonprofit, and government entities that make up the National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program (NDIIPP) partner network have been working toward an architecture that can provide for reliable redundant geographically dispersed copies of their digital content. The NDIIPP program has conducted a set of initiatives that have enabled partners to better understand the requirements for effective collection interchange. The NDIIPP program partnered with the San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC) to determine the feasibility of data transmission and storage utilizing the best of breed technologies inherent to U.S. high-speed research networks and high-performance computing data storage infrastructures. The results of this partnership guided the development of the Library of Congresss cyberinfrastructure and its approach to network data transfer. Other NDIIPP partners, too, are researching a range of network architecture models for data exchange and storage. All of these explorations will build toward the development of best practices for sustainable interoperability and storage solutions.

The Chronopolis digital network: the economics of long-term preservation

Abstract. The case study describes the experience of the Chronopolis Digital Network after the initial funding was exhausted and considers the various funding models that are most likely to enable the activity to achieve sustainability in the longer term. A layered funding approach is seen as the most appropriate way forward.

Putting research data into context: Scholarly, professional, and educational approaches to curating data for reuse

In this panel session we will discuss approaches to data curation for data reuse, with particular emphasis on the contextual information needed for reuse. We invite three panelists to present perspectives from communities that are 1) conducting scholarly research in the area of data reuse, 2) performing data curation and preservation work, and 3) educating information professionals. Given the shared interests among the three communities, one of the major objectives of the panel session is to deepen the engagement and connection among these groups. We have planned interaction with the audience to integrate the panelists’ different perspectives and approaches, outline common objectives, and explore ways we might create a common agenda in the area of data curation for data reuse.

Research Data Curation Pilots: Lessons Learned

In the spring of 2011, the UC San Diego Research Cyberinfrastructure (RCI) Implementation Team invited researchers and research teams to participate in a research curation and data management pilot program. This invitation took the form of a campus-wide solicitation. More than two dozen applications were received and, after due deliberation, the RCI Oversight Committee selected five curation-intensive projects. These projects were chosen based on a number of criteria, including how they represented campus research, varieties of topics, researcher engagement, and the various services required. The pilot process began in September 2011, and will be completed in early 2014. Extensive lessons learned from the pilots are being compiled and are being used in the on-going design and implementation of the permanent Research Data Curation Program in the UC San Diego Library. In this paper, we present specific implementation details of these various services, as well as lessons learned. The program focused on many aspects of contemporary scholarship, including data creation and storage, description and metadata creation, citation and publication, and long term preservation and access. Based on the lessons learned in our processes, the Research Data Curation Program will provide a suite of services from which campus users can pick and choose, as necessary. The program will provide support for the data management requirements from national funding agencies.

Improving and strengthening inter-institutional preservation

Large-scale digital preservation is increasingly viewed as a core technology need in the scientific and academic communities. Indeed, the vast majority of the worlds information is now produced as digital files, not print documents. If we do not take the time to preserve this information it will be lost, and along with it significant scientific and cultural resources will vanish. This is not an imaginary or theoretical threat: every day events occur which result in the loss of data collections. These events range from the smallest and most mundane to the catastrophic, and they cannot be totally prevented -- indeed they are in many ways inherent in any large technology enterprise. Our job is to protect important data in the face of these events, preserving it for future scientists, researchers, students, and society at large.