15 Feb A Guide to Getting Started with Digital Curation Projects

In an age dominated by digital technologies, museums, and cultural institutions are faced with the challenge of effectively curating and preserving their digital collections. Digital curation, the process of managing, organizing, and preserving digital assets, is essential for safeguarding cultural heritage and enhancing accessibility for future generations. Here, we explore the key steps to embark on a successful digital curation project.

Selection Criteria: Defining Your Scope The first step in digital curation is defining the scope of your project and establishing selection criteria for the inclusion of digital assets. Consider the significance, uniqueness, and relevance of each asset to your institution’s mission and objectives. Consult with stakeholders, subject matter experts, and community members to ensure a comprehensive understanding of your collection’s value and potential impact.

Prioritization: Identifying Key Assets Once you have established selection criteria, prioritize your digital assets based on their cultural, historical, and research significance. Identify core assets that align closely with your institution’s goals and objectives, as well as assets that are at risk of loss or deterioration. By prioritizing assets strategically, you can allocate resources effectively and maximize the impact of your digital curation efforts.

Creating a Preservation Policy: Safeguarding Your Assets A preservation policy serves as a roadmap for the long-term stewardship of digital assets, outlining the principles, strategies, and responsibilities for preservation and access. Develop a comprehensive preservation policy that addresses key areas such as format migration, file integrity, metadata standards, and access restrictions. Engage stakeholders and legal experts to ensure compliance with relevant laws, regulations, and ethical guidelines.

Creating a Preservation Strategy: Mitigating Risks With a preservation policy in place, develop a preservation strategy that outlines the specific actions and workflows for managing digital assets throughout their lifecycle. Identify preservation risks such as file obsolescence, hardware failure, and data loss, and implement proactive measures to mitigate these risks. Establish protocols for regular backups, format conversions, and quality assurance to ensure the integrity and longevity of your digital collections.

Creating Metadata Documentation: Enriching Accessibility Metadata documentation plays a crucial role in facilitating the discovery, retrieval, and interpretation of digital assets. Develop metadata schemas and standards that capture essential information about each asset, including descriptive, administrative, and technical metadata. Consider interoperability with existing metadata frameworks and standards to enhance discoverability and interoperability across diverse platforms and systems.

Embarking on a digital curation project requires careful planning, collaboration, and strategic decision-making. By defining selection criteria, prioritizing assets, creating preservation policies and strategies, and documenting metadata, museums can lay the foundation for effective digital curation that preserves cultural heritage and enhances accessibility for future generations.