Web Archives Registry launched by IIPC

From the announcement on DIGITAL-PRESERVATION@JISCMAIL.AC.UK (02009 12 22):

The International Internet Preservation Consortium (IIPC) has launched a new registry (http://netpreserve.org/about/archiveList.php) of its members’ web archives. Preserving the web is not a task of any single institution. It is a mission common to all IIPC members, and many practices and lessons are transferable.

The launch of the members' web archive registry showcases international collaboration for preserving internet content for future generations. The registry currently includes descriptions of twenty one archives from around the world. As additional archives are made available by IIPC members, the registry will be updated.

The registry provides an overview of all members web archiving efforts and outputs, offering a single point of access to users of archived web content. It also provide detailed description of each web archive, including information about the collecting institution, the harvesting methods (domain, selective, or thematic), the language of the user interface, methods for accessing the archived content, and whether there are any access restrictions that researchers need to be aware of.

The registry was put in place by IIPC’s Access Working Group, which focuses on initiatives, procedures and tools required to provide immediate access and to preserve the future access to Internet material in a Web archive. The registry provides a basis for IIPC to explore integrated access and search in the future.

Fedora 3.3 available as of 02009 12 21

From the announcement on DIGLIB (02009 12 22),

Today [02009 12 21], the DuraSpace not-for-profit organization and the Fedora digital repository project announced the release of Fedora 3.3 (http://fedora-commons.org/confluence/x/jQ3S). This release marks a new milestone in the process of developing the Fedora open source software. For the first time, the Fedora community came together under the leadership of a Community Release Manager who facilitated the software development process and the integration of community contributions. The effort was led by Kai Strnad, Software Engineer with FIZ Karlsruhe (http://www.fiz-karlsruhe.de/) and member of the eSciDoc project team (https://www.escidoc.org/).

Journal of Digital Information special issue on Information Access to Cultural Heritage

The Journal of Digital Information has published a special issue on Information Access to Cultural Heritage, vol. 10, no. 6 (2009). JoDI is a peer-reviewed Web journal supported by Texas A&M University Libraries. Articles in this issue are available as PDF or HTML documents. JoDI uses the Public Knowledge Project's Open Journal Systems.

Wellcome Library Arabic manuscript digitization project

The Wellcome Library in London, England, has partnered with the Bibliotheca Alexandrina and King's College London to create a free, searchable, online catalog of 500 Islamic manuscripts in the Wellcome Library. According to the announcement on the DIGLIB mailing list (02009 12 08), "The website will be hosted by the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, and digitised content will also be available via the Wellcome Library catalogue, pending inclusion of the complete catalogue on the Wellcome site when circumstances permit." More information on the project is at http://library.wellcome.ac.uk/arabicproject.html.

Conservation OnLine's (CoOL's) new home

Conservation OnLine (CoOL), an amazing resource hosted for many years by Stanford University and which to its shame withdrew its support, has now been fully resurrected by the Foundation of the American Institute for Conservation at http://cool.conservation-us.org/.

New DPC Technology Watch Report: File Formats for Preservation released

According to an announcement on DIGITAL-PRESERVATION@JISCMAIL.AC.UK (02009 12 02), the Digital Preservation Coalition added

... a new report to the DPC Technology Watch Report Series: File Formats for Preservation, written by Malcolm Todd of The National Archives: http://www.dpconline.org/docs/reports/dpctw09-02.pdf

The selection and manipulation of file formats has long been seen as an important element within digital preservation strategies, especially data migration. However there are different and to some extent competing grounds for selection of file formats. The proliferation of formats, the need to provide long term access to data embedded within files and the role of the file as a container for encoded information create subtle tensions for preservation managers.

This new report provides an extensive account of the challenges that format management creates for long term access and it provides concrete recommendations which can inform preservation strategies. Rather than making generalisations about the merits of common formats, it presents repository managers with the tools they will need to develop nuanced advice specific to their own requirements. It goes on to contribute the implications on file format selection of archival science viewpoint arising from recent research in the UK and North America into a wider digital preservation discourse.

Kindle for PC application

Amazon.com has a free Kindle for PC application that allows you to sync your Kindle Reader to your PC or to use your PC to purchase Kindle-enable e-publications even if you don't own a Kindle. The Kindle for PC application lets you read material in full color.