Perla Innocenti

Assessing digital preservation frameworks: the approach of the SHAMAN project

How can we deliver infrastructure capable of supporting the preservation of digital objects, as well as the services that can be applied to those digital objects, in ways that future unknown systems will understand? A critical problem in developing systems is the process of validating whether the delivered solution effectively reflects the validated requirements. This is a challenge also for the EU-funded SHAMAN project, which aims to develop an integrated preservation framework using grid-technologies for distributed networks of digital preservation systems, for managing the storage, access, presentation, and manipulation of digital objects over time. Recognising this, the project team ensured that alongside the user requirements an assessment framework was developed. This paper presents the assessment of the SHAMAN demonstrators for the memory institution, industrial design and engineering and eScience domains, from the point of view of users needs and fitness for purpose. An innovative synergistic use of TRAC criteria, DRAMBORA risk registry and mitigation strategies, iRODS rules and information system models requirements has been designed, with the underlying goal to define associated policies, rules and state information, and make them wherever possible machine-encodable and enforceable. The described assessment framework can be valuable not only for the implementers of this project preservation framework, but for the wider digital preservation community, because it provides a holistic approach to assessing and validating the preservation of digital libraries, digital repositories and data centres.

Towards a Digital Library Policy and Quality Interoperability Framework: The DL.org Project

Interoperability is a property referring to the ability of systems and organizations to work together. Today interoperability is recognized as a key step in the shift from isolated digital libraries toward a common information space that will allow users to browse through different digital libraries within a single integrated environment. In this paper, we discuss the premises underlying a novel Policy and Quality Interoperability Framework, taking into account the preliminary outcomes and the recommendations of the Policy and Quality Working Groups that are currently being run by the EU co-funded project Digital Library Interoperability, Best Practices, and Modeling Foundations (DL.org).

Paving the Way for Interoperability in Digital Libraries: The DL.org Project

While Digital Libraries are working towards making universally accessible collections of human knowledge a reality, considerable advances are needed in Digital Libraries methodologies and technologies to make this happen. Achieving interoperability between Digital Libraries is a crucial requirement for reaching this goal. Interoperability is a multi-layered and context-specific concept. It encompasses different levels along a multidimensional spectrum ranging from organisational to technological aspects. Addressing the interoperability challenges is the prime goal of the DL.org project. DL.org is advancing the state of the art in this area, and is proposing solutions for interoperability in addition to best practices and shared standards, bringing together knowledge from the DELOS project and expertise of Digital Library stakeholders. To achieve its objectives, the project is looking at the DELOS Digital Library Reference Model and investigating interoperability from the viewpoint of the six fundamental Digital Library concepts: Content, User, Functionality, Quality, Policy, and Architecture. Our paper describes the results of DL.org research, and how the project is addressing the interoperability challenge from the perspectives of the six domains. Relevant Digital Library interoperability aspects will be described, from conceptualisation at a high organisational level to instantiation at process level, and modelling techniques for representing and enabling interoperability between heterogeneous digital library mediation approaches, methods, and systems. By pursuing the interoperability goal, DL.org is paving the way forward for embedding new research achievements into real-world systems, and is supporting the advancement of research and the creation of a European Information Space for the knowledge-based economy.

Considering the user perspective: Research into usage and communication of digital information.

This article presents the methodology and initial results from qualitative research into the usage and communication of digital information. It considers the motivation for the research and the methodologies adopted, including Contextual Design and Cultural Probes. The article describes the preliminary studies conducted to test the approach, highlighting the strengths and limitations of the techniques applied. Finally, it outlines proposals for refinement in subsequent iterations and the future research activities planned. The research is carried out as part of the Planets (Preservation and Long-term Access through NETworked Services) project. As the digital evolution becomes infused into everyday life, the ways in which society communicates and uses information are changing. New processes are emerging that were inconceivable in a solely analogue world. National libraries and archives, as the custodians of a societys information, have the responsibility to safeguard these records and to provide sustained access to digital cultural and scientific knowledge. If these organisations are to fulfil these responsibilities, as a community of practitioners we must understand the nature of new communication and usage processes, both to ensure the appraisal process captures the right material and to guarantee that the new kinds of emerging working procedures are supported by the institutions.

Migrating heritage, digital cultural networks and social inclusion in Europe

This paper describes ongoing research on cultural networks within the EU-funded FP7 SSH project European Museums in an Age of Migration (MeLa, www.mela-project.eu). Among the research themes addressed, the focus here is in particular on the new proposed concept of migrating heritage, viewed against the backdrop of politics and policies of a common European culture, the conceptual framework of cultural heritage, cultural networking and digital technologies. Analysis of relevant literature is provided, together with selected case studies.

MultiMedia Information Retrieval: stato dell'arte e prospettive di applicazione

The article presents a volume on multimedia information retrieval (MMIR), promoted by the Italian Association of Advanced Documentation (AIDA). The volume outlines the state of the art of MMIR, an innovative system of content-based information retrieval to process digital information in multimedia databases. It offers a panorama of multimedia information retrieval issues and challenging research areas and a collections of chapters by international specialists in the computer science and information retrieval community. The aim of the book is to contribute to dissemination of MMIR in Italy, envisioning its potencial applications by public and private organizations in a variety of fields within the documentation area. For technically inclined readers dealing with information systems, artificial intelligence, image and audio processing, computer vision, human-computer interaction and high performance computing, the book will provide a deeping lecture on familiar topics.