The following is a text-only press release from the federal Institute of
Museum and Library Services (IMLS). An HTML version of this release with
important links can be viewed on the agency's Web site at
http://www.imls.gov/news/2009/112009c.shtm.


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 20, 2009

IMLS Press Contacts
202-653-4632

Jeannine Mjoseth, [log in to unmask]
Mamie Bittner, [log in to unmask] 

International Collaboration to Close the Digital Curation Gap

Washington, DC-Scientists, researchers, and scholars across the world
generate vast amounts of digital data, but the scientific record and the
documentary heritage created in digital form are at risk -- from
technology obsolescence, from the fragility of digital media, and from
the lack of baseline practices for managing and preserving digital data.
The University of North Carolina Chapel Hill (UNC-CH) School of
Information and Library Science, working with the Institute of Museum
and Library Services (IMLS) and partners in the United Kingdom (U.K.),
are collaborating on the Closing the Digital Curation Gap (CDCG) project
to establish baseline practices for the storage, maintenance, and
preservation of digital data to help ensure their enhancement and
continuing long-term use. Because digital curation, or the management
and preservation of digital data over the full life cycle, is of
strategic importance to the library and archives fields, IMLS is funding
the project through a cooperative agreement with UNC-CH. U.K. partners
include the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC), which supports
innovation in digital technologies in U.K. colleges and universities,
and its funded entities, the Strategic Content Alliance (SCA) and the
Digital Curation Centre (DCC).

Well-curated data can be made accessible for a variety of audiences. For
example, the data gathered by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey
(www.sdss.org) at the Apache Point Observatory in New Mexico is
available to professional astronomers worldwide as well as to
schoolchildren, teachers, and citizen scientists through its Galaxy Zoo
project. Galaxy Zoo, now in its second version, invites citizen
scientists to assist in classifying over a million galaxies
(www.galaxyzoo.org). With good preservation techniques, this data will
be available into the future to provide documentation of the sky as it
currently appears. 

Data and information science researchers have already developed many
viable applications, models, strategies, and standards for the long term
care of digital objects. This project will help bridge a significant gap
between the progress of digital curation research and development and
the professional practices of archivists, librarians, and museum
curators. Project partners will develop guidelines for digital curation
practices, especially for staff in small to medium-sized cultural
heritage institutions where digital assets are most at risk. Larger
institutions will also benefit. To develop baseline practices, a working
group will establish and support a network of digital curation
practitioners, researchers, and educators through face-to-face meetings,
web-based communication, and other communication tools. Project staff
will also use surveys, interviews, and case studies to develop a plan
for ongoing development of digital curation frameworks, guidance, and
best practices. The team will also promote roles that various
organizations can play and identify future opportunities for
collaboration.

As part of this project, the Digital Curation Manual, which is
maintained by the DCC, will be updated and expanded
www.dcc.ac.uk/resource/curation-manual/chapters and the Digital Curation
Exchange web portal will receive support
(http://digitalcurationexchange.org). Through these efforts, the CDCG
project will lay the foundation that will inform future training,
education, and practice. The project's research, publications, practical
tool integration, and outreach and training efforts will be of value to
organizations charged with maintaining digital assets over the long
term.

The CDGP will be based upon findings from a number of efforts supported
by IMLS, the U.K., and the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF). U.K.
funding for digital curation has focused largely on developing U.K.-wide
digital repositories, especially in the sciences, and on training data
curators, working in disciplines served by the particular repositories.
IMLS funding has focused on research and development projects that build
the capacity of libraries to preserve and manage digital content, and on
building the capacity of graduate schools of library and information
science to offer educational programs that prepare librarians and
archivists for these new roles. The NSF, through its DataNet program, is
supporting large-scale collaborative projects that provide reliable
digital preservation, access, integration, and analysis capabilities for
science data over a decades-long timeline, and contribute to an
interoperable data preservation and access network. 

About the Institute of Museum and Library Services 
The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of
federal support for the nation's 123,000 libraries and 17,500 museums.
The Institute's mission is to create strong libraries and museums that
connect people to information and ideas. The Institute works at the
national level and in coordination with state and local organizations to
sustain heritage, culture, and knowledge; enhance learning and
innovation; and support professional development. To learn more about
the Institute, please visit www.imls.gov.

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