Name:

Email address:

Institution:

We created this checklist to help you prepare for the workshop and to get you to think about your organization's digital assets in terms of scope, priorities, resources, and overall readiness to address digital preservation concerns.

You will see that the themes of organizational, technological, and resource concerns, which are interwoven throughout the tutorial and workshop, are also reflected in this checklist. The organizational infrastructure confirms institutional commitment to digital preservation, sets the goals and priorities for the program, and acknowledges accepted community practice and standards. The technological infrastructure translates the objectives of the program into technical requirements, recommends and initiates appropriate solutions, and assumes responsibility for ensuring that the organization is able to meet the technological needs of the program over time. Sound decision making for digital preservation is a joint activity that brings together both the organizational and technological components. Undergirding the program are resource commitments—funding, staff, training, services, etc.—that need to be identified and secured as an on-going commitment of the institution.

Do not be alarmed if you answer “no” or "don't know" to most or all of the questions. This survey is intended to help you take stock of the requisite components of a digital preservation program and to help you develop a strategy for digital preservation planning at your institution.

A. Organizational Infrastructure

Organizational readiness is best reflected in the development and adoption of explicit policies that address digital preservation commitments and decisions. Often an organization undertakes a program without first ensuring that the necessary policies and controls are in place.

Mission
1. Can your institution's mission statement be interpreted as supporting a long-term commitment to the preservation of valuable digital materials that you have acquired or created?

Yes
No
Don't know

Policies and Procedures
2. Do you have written policies and procedures that address specific aspects of long-term access (as opposed to those covering digitization)? If No or Don't know, skip to Section B. If Yes, continue to 2a.

Yes — go to question 2a
No — click here to skip to Section B
Don't know — click here to skip to Section B

2a. Do you have written agreements with principal stakeholders on defined roles and responsibilities?

Yes
No
Don't know

If yes, please identify stakeholders (e.g., depositors, publishers, users communities, etc.).

2b. Do you have policies and guidelines covering selection, de-selection, and acquisition?

Yes
No
Don't know

2c. Have you defined and promulgated quality creation requirements and procedures?

Yes
No
Don't know

2d. Are comprehensive deposit guidelines in place?

Yes
No
Don't know

2e. Do you have written transfer requirements?

Yes
No
Don't know

2f. Have you explicitly defined preservation strategies that are appropriate to digital collections and objects that you have committed to preserving?

Yes
No
Don't know

If yes, please describe:

Authority
3. If you answered yes to any part of question 2, were these digital preservation documents vetted by senior management?

Fully
Partially
No, but in progress
No
Don't know

Implementation
4. Has your organization implemented the policies and practices contained in these documents?

Fully
Partially
No, but in progress
No
Don't know

B. Technological Infrastructure

Organizations tend to rely on or create digital content first and address long-term access later. This section addresses current and planned digital objects and collections, storage management, and depositories.

Digital Collections
5. Do you currently have the following types of digital objects that your institution has committed to maintaining over time? (Some objects may fall into multiple categories. Please check all that apply.)

licensed e-journal files (articles, issues, journals)
    have now    will have within 2 years   no

institutional records (in any format)
    have now    will have within 2 years   no

websites
    have now    will have within 2 years   no

email
    have now    will have within 2 years   no

word processing files
    have now    will have within 2 years   no

digital image files
    have now    will have within 2 years   no

pdf files
    have now    will have within 2 years   no

numeric data files
    have now    will have within 2 years   no

databases and spreadsheets
    have now    will have within 2 years   no

geographic information systems
    have now   will have within 2 years   no

audiovisual files
    have now    will have within 2 years   no

XML or other markup files
    have now    will have within 2 years   no

Other (please list)

6. Are there any digital materials in your holdings for which you lack the operational and/or technical capacity to mount, read, and access?

Yes
No
Don't know

If yes, please describe:

Archival Storage
7. Are you using any of these kinds of file storage: (Please check all that apply.)

online (i.e. spinning magnetic disk)
    access copies    master files   backup   don't know

magnetic tape
    access copies    master files    backup   don't know

CD, DVD, or other optical or magneto-optical disk
    access copies   master files    backup    don't know

solid state
    access copies   master files    backup    don't know

Other (please list)

Storage Practice
8. Does your storage program include: (Please check all that apply.)

the use of high quality storage media?
an access-controlled area for the machines and media on which files are stored?
an environmentally-controlled area for storage media?
a disaster recovery plan?
a media testing program?
a media refreshing/migration program?
backup
offsite storage for backups
other (Please describe.)

Obsolescence
9. Have you undertaken any actions to extend the life of digital content that is threatened by obsolescence of file formats, storage media, and the supporting hardware/software?

File Formats    Yes    No    Don't know
Storage Media Yes    No   Don't know
Storage Drive   Yes    No    Don't know
Hardware        Yes    No   Don't know
Software         Yes    No    Don't know

10. If yes, what actions have you taken?

Repository
11. Have you established any kind of digital repository arrangements for managing your digital collections over time?

Yes
No — click here to skip to Section C
Don't know — click here to skip to Section C

Repository Development
12. If yes, have you:

developed a repository in-house?
created software to implement the repository?
acquired proprietary software to implement the repository?
acquired open-source software to implement the repository?
outsourced the development/maintenance of the repository?
contracted with a third party organization for repository services?
joined a consortium for developing/delivering repository services?
made other arrangements? (describe)

If you have checked any of these, please bring whatever documentation you have of the arrangements.

Security
13. Does your repository have security and other mechanisms in place to ensure the integrity of objects in the repository against intentional or accidental security threats?

Yes
No
Don't know

OAIS Compliance
14. Is your organization committed to the development or use of an OAIS-compliant repository for the long-term preservation of digital objects that are or will be within the scope of your preservation program?

Yes
No
Don't know

C. Resources

Once the need to establish a digital preservation program is recognized and there is the will to do so, the organization must be ready to build and sustain the program. This section covers resources: financial, human, and technical.

Sustainable Funding
15. Does your institution currently have funding dedicated for the long-term maintenance of your digital collections?

Yes
No
Don't know

If yes, please describe the extent and nature of funding.

If no, please outline potential sources and plans for acquiring funding.

Staffing
16. Are there staff specifically charged with digital preservation responsibility at your institution?

Yes
No
Don't know

16a. If yes, how many?

16b. If yes, please list their titles.

17. Is there adequate organizational expertise to develop a digital preservation program?

Yes
No
Don't know

Comment:

18. Is there adequate technical expertise to develop a digital preservation program?

Yes
No
Don't know

Comment:

19. Does senior management view digital preservation as a key priority?

Yes
No
Don't know

Comment:

20. Is there adequate support for staff training in digital preservation?

Yes
No
Don't know

Comment:

21. Does your institution currently use outside sources of expertise for digital preservation (e.g., consultants, contracts)?

Yes
No
Don't know

Comment:

Technological Infrastructure
22. Is the current technological infrastructure at your organization adequate to build and/or sustain a digital preservation program, with requisite upgrades and enhancements overtime?

Yes
No
Don't know

Please discuss the status of the infrastructure and potential concerns.

23. Has your institution dedicated funds for technology development, replacement, and upgrades as an annual expense?

Yes
No
Don't know

Administrative Structure
24. Would the digital preservation program be:

incorporated into existing units?
a separate unit?
Not sure/don't know

25. How would you rank the following factors as threats to the loss of digital materials at your institution within the next three years? 1=greatest threat, 5=smallest threat. Use each ranking only once (e.g., do not rank two factors as #1).

Technological obsolescence
Insufficient policies or plans for preservation
Insufficient resources for preservation
Inadequate support from senior staff
Lack of expertise
Other: please describe:

D. Comments