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Term
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Meaning
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Archive
Also: Digital archive
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This term is used very differently within sectors. The library and archiving communities often use it interchangeably with digital preservation.
Computing professionals tend to use digital archiving to mean the process of backup and ongoing maintenance as opposed to strategies for long-term digital preservation
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Authenticity
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The record is what it purports to be. In the case of digitised or ‘born digital’ records authenticity refers to the trustworthiness of the electronic record and that it is the same as when it was first created, unless the metadata shows that changes have been made
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Bit preservation
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Bit preservation includes maintaining backup copies, fixity and virus checking, and refreshing to new storage media. Bit preservation supports the ensuring the endurance of digital records but is not digital preservation.
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Born-digital
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Digital files that were created in digital form; those that were not derived as a surrogate from physical form and not intended to have an analogue equivalent
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Checksum
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A unique numerical signature derived from a file. Used to compare copies ensuring authenticity.
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Collection
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Items created or collected by one particular person or organisation, and maintained as a distinct grouping
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Crawl
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The act of browsing the web automatically and methodically to index or download content and other data from the web. The software to do this is often called a web crawler
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Designated community
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Potential consumers of records who should be able to understand the records. The designated community can consist of more than one community and may change over time.
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Digital preservation
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Digital preservation is the active management of digital content over time to ensure continued access beyond the limits of media failure or technological and organisational change
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Digitisation
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The process of creating digital files by scanning, photographing, or otherwise converting analogue materials
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Emulation
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A means of overcoming technological obsolescence of hardware and software by developing techniques for imitating obsolete systems on future generations of computers
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File format
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The file format tells the computer how to display, print, and process, and save the information. It is determined by the program which created the file and the operating system under which it was created and stored. You can determine the format by the filename extension which contain 3 or 4 letters, e.g. .docx, .mp3
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Fixity
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The state of being unchanged; permanence.
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Fixity check
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A method for ensuring the integrity of a file and verifying it has not been altered or corrupted. During transfer, an archive may run a fixity check to ensure a transmitted file has not been altered en route. Within the archive, fixity checking is used to ensure that digital files have not been altered or corrupted
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Ingest
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The process of preparing and uploading data into a digital preservation system such as Preservica
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InterPARES project
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International Research on Permanent Authentic Records in Electronic Systems http://www.interpares.org.
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Lifecycle
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Refers to the life span of a record from creation to disposal or deposit with the archives. The major implications for the lifecycle when managing electronic records, regardless of form or function, is the need actively to manage the record at each stage of its lifecycle recognising the dependencies between each stage and beginning preservation actions as early as feasible. This requirement has prompted a reassessment of the lifecycle model and the development the continuum lifecycle model to distinguish it from the more traditional and linear flow of the lifecycle.
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Lossy / lossless
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Lossless compression is a mechanism for reducing file sizes that retains all original data; lossy compression is mechanism for reducing file sizes that typically discards data.
For instance, .tiff is a lossless format, whereas .jpg is a lossy format
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Metadata
Also: Documentation
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Data about data. Information about the records and the context they were created in, aiding in the discovery, identification, and management of records.
Specific metadata schemas include Dublin Core (DC)
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Migration
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A means of transferring digital records from one hardware or software generation to the next. Migration preserves the content of the records but doesn’t always make an exact copy
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Preservation actions
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A series of managed activities to preserve the integrity and authenticity of digital information despite generational changes in computing technology
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Proprietary / non-propriety (open-source)
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Proprietary software is owned by a company which restricts the ways in which it can be used (e.g. Microsoft Excel, Adobe Acrobat). Non-proprietary software is usually open source, i.e. its source code is available under an open license: it can be used for free, but also modified and developed.
A proprietary file format is owned and controlled by a company, and may require proprietary software to be read reliably. Microsoft Excel, for instance, uses the proprietary XLS and XLSX formats.
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Record
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Any recorded information created, received, used of maintained as evidence of or information about the conduct of SGUL activities
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Submission package
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An Information Package that is delivered by the Producer to the OAIS for use in the construction or update of one or more Archival Information Packages (AIPs) and/or the associated Descriptive Information (OAIS term)
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