Introduction
The Odum Institute Data Archive Digital Preservation Policy outlines the implementation of the digital preservation strategic plan adopted by the Odum Institute Data Archive. The development and ongoing maintenance of a comprehensive standards-based digital preservation strategic plan demonstrates the Odum Institute Data Archive’s commitment to the preservation of, long term retention of, management of, and access to its digital data collections. The Odum Institute Data Archive accepts responsibility for fulfilling the requirements of its digital preservation strategic plan as described and formalized by this document.
Archival Standards Compliance
Odum Institute Data Archive systems, policies, and procedures have been developed in alignment with prevailing standards for trustworthy digital repositories as outlined in ISO 14721 Reference Model for an Open Archival Information System (OAIS) and ISO 16363 Audit and Certification of Trustworthy Digital Repositories. Odum Institute Data Archive digital preservation systems and workflows as they comply with these standards are described in Odum Institute Data Archive Policies and Standards.
Administrative Responsibility
Founded by Howard W. Odum in 1924, the Odum Institute is considered to the oldest interdisciplinary social science institute at a research university in the United States. In 1969, the Odum Institute Data Archive was formally established when it received funds from the National Science Foundation to create an academic center of excellence in science to include computing facilities for a Social Science Statistical Laboratory and Data Center.
Throughout its history, the Odum Institute Data Archive has demonstrated its leadership in social science data curation and archiving through its development of innovative archival technologies and workflow processes to support and enhance long-term digital data preservation. The Odum Institute Data Archive has been an active contributing member of the data archiving community as a founding member of the Data Preservation Alliance for the Social Sciences (Data-PASS), the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research, and the Curation for Reproducibility Consortium, and has served in leadership positions for international organizations such as the International Federation of Data Organizations (IFDO).
Consistent with this role, the Odum Institute Data Archive mission is:
To provide trusted long-term preservation and stewardship of research data assets to broaden scientific inquiry, promote research reproducibility, and foster data fluency now and into the future.
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Complete regular self- and external audits to ensure compliance with OAIS and other applicable standards for trustworthy digital repositories
Organizational Viability
The Odum Institute Data Archive preserves, manages, and distributes digital data assets and associated materials acquired in accordance with the Odum Institute Data Archive Collection Development Policy. The digital preservation processes and procedures employed by the Odum Institute Data Archive demonstrate an explicit institutional commitment to the long-term preservation of and access to its digital data holdings now and into the future.
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Changes in technology. The risk of technological obsolescence and other breakdowns can arise as
technologies evolve and introduce new capabilities and content types. Therefore, the Odum Institute Archive continually monitors and responds to changes in technology.Shifts in normative research practice. As the adoption of novel research techniques become widespread, the Odum Institute Data Archive must become aware of and understand the new tools, practices, and data types these novel techniques yield. The Odum Institute Data Archive adapts its preservation program to accommodate these and other shifts in scholarly practice.
Growth of interdisciplinary research. The increase in interdisciplinary research activities has challenged discrete definitions of specific scholarly domains. The Odum Institute defines social science broadly to include research in any domain that includes a social component. This interdisciplinary view requires that the Odum Institute Data Archive become familiar with tools, practices, and data types of other disciplines that appear in research projects for which this broader definition of social science applies.
Expansion of archive roles and responsibilities. The role of the archive is as dynamic as the landscape in which it serves. Changes in technology, research practices, domain definitions, and stakeholder expectations require Odum Institute Data Archive staff to receive appropriate training and professional development opportunities to be able to expand roles and responsibilities in order to effectively develop, implement, and maintain a comprehensive digital preservation program.
Financial Sustainability
The University of North Carolina and the Odum Institute demonstrate their commitment to the continued operations of the Odum Institute Data Archive by providing financial and administrative support, and underwriting inter-institutional collaborations and partnerships.
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The demands of sustaining a comprehensive digital preservation program threaten to exceed the amount of resources available to any one individual institution. Therefore, the Odum Institute Data Archive has placed importance on collaborative partnerships with other archives as well as the broader digital data archiving community. As a member of Data-PASS, the Odum Institute Data Archive has entered into an agreement to cooperate with Data-PASS partners to achieve common objectives to archive social science data, provide access to these data in a shared catalog, participate in a preservation network, and engage in digital preservation best practices. The Data-PASS partnership is integral to the Odum Institute Data Archive succession plan, which dictates the transfer of Odum Institute Data Archive collections to Data-PASS partners should the Odum Institute Data Archive become unable to meet these objectives. More information is available on the Data-PASS website.
Technological and Procedural Suitability
The Odum Institute Data Archive employs several digital preservation strategies and techniques to achieve its objectives. These strategies and techniques are informed by guidelines and procedures published by Data-PASS and developed to align with established archival standards and best practices.
The primary content of the Odum Institute Data Archive collections consists of quantitative social science data presented in tabular file formats as well as textual documents that contain information required to identify, verify, interpret, and use the data. Digital preservation strategies require that the Odum Institute Data Archive apply all reasonable efforts to ensure the integrity, authenticity, and completeness of the digital content it acquires and distributes.
The Odum Institute Data Archive has adopted file format normalization and migration as its main digital preservation strategy. For tabular data files, a software-agnostic tab-delimited file derivative is generated and preserved alongside the original file. Other non-preferred file formats are normalized and/or converted to optimal preservation formats as recommended by the Library of Congress Recommended Formats Statement for bit-level preservation. An annual review of Archive systems and content is conducted to determine the necessity of hardware and software migration. Criteria for migration are based on requirements of the Designated Community. These criteria include media longevity and viability, susceptibility to physical damage, and user preferences for data file access and use.
To support fulfillment of Digital Preservation Plan requirements, the Odum Institute Data Archive requires data contributors (excluding self-deposit contributors) to complete and sign a Data Deposit Form that enables authentication of digital content using included provenance information, and sets clear roles, rights, and responsibilities of the data contributor and the Odum Institute Data Archive.
System Security
Levels of data curation, which are described further in the Odum Institute Collection Development Policy, address the preservation needs of digital files that may include file normalization, identification of issues of data sensitivity and confidentiality, and resolution of data quality deficiencies. These actions are key to ensuring that the digital data assets are publicly discoverable, accessible, and usable into the long-term future. Implementation of data curation is described in detail in the Odum Institute Data Archive Data Curation Workflow.
The Odum Institute Data Archive and its systems are bound by the University of North Carolina Information Technology Services (ITS) Information Security Policy and all other applicable ITS policies and guidelines for the storage, management, handling, and transmission of data.
The archival infrastructure of the Odum Institute Data Archive is built using reliable and robust systems committed to the long-term integrity and accessibility of digital materials. Several measures have been put in place to monitor for and prevent unauthorized use and access of systems and digital content. Systems include network, storage, and power redundancy to reduce the risk of system failure and loss of content. A diversified storage solution for file backup stores copies of all content in both local locations and in off-site storage in geographically distributed locations. The Odum Institute Data Security Guidelines provides additional information on adherence measures, policy protections, and technological protections in place to comply with applicable laws and regulations governing data security.
The membership of the Odum Institute Data Archive in the Data-PASS partnership is central to the long-term protection of Odum Institute Data Archive digital data assets. Should the Odum Institute Data Archive be affected by disaster, the content of its collections are to be transferred to a Data-PASS partner institution for long-term stewardship and preservation in accordance with the Data-PASS Memorandum of Understanding.
Procedural Accountability
The Archive is dedicated to promoting trust with its designated user community, collaborative partners, the professional archives community, and the larger scholarly community though self-assessment, audit, and transparency of policies and procedures.
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The Odum Institute Data Archive Digital Preservation Policy is subject to three-year review or upon the emergence of new standards and best practices, whichever may come first. The current policy was approved and issued on January 24, 2020.
References
Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems. (2011). Audit and certification of trustworthy digital repositories (Magenta Book No. 652.0-M-1). Washington, D.C.: National Aeronautics Space Agency. Retrieved from http://public.ccsds.org/publications/archive/652x0m1.pdf
Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems. (2012). Reference model for an open archival information system (OAIS) (Magenta Book No. 650.0-M-2). Washington, D.C.: National Aeronautics Space Agency. Retrieved from http://public.ccsds.org/publications/archive/650x0m2.pdf
Data Preservation Alliance for the Social Sciences (Data-PASS). (n.d.). About Data-PASS. Retrieved from http://www.data-pass.org/
Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (2016, November). ICPSR digital preservation policy framework. Retrieved from http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/content/datamanagement/preservation/policies/dpp-framework.html
JISC. (2009, January 27). Establishing a digital preservation policy. Retrieved from http://www.jiscdigitalmedia.ac.uk/crossmedia/advice/establishing-a-digital-preservation-policy/
McGovern, N. (2015, November 13). Digital preservation policy framework: Development guideline version 2.1. Retrieved from http://canada.pch.gc.ca/eng/1443189702298
Roper Center. (2015, January 23). Digital preservation policy. Retrieved from https://ropercenter.cornell.edu/digital-preservation-policy/
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