Perverting the historical record

Archives and museum security experts frequently emphasize that the motivations of thieves are varied. Some seek revenge against institutions that, in their view, have done them wrong. Some are convinced that they're rescuing records or artifacts from repositories that aren't providing proper care. Some have a covetous love of history. Some view theft as an easy way to make money. Some do it for the sheer thrill of it. And, of course, some are driven by multiple compulsions.

Case in point: John Mark Tillman, a Nova Scotian who devoted at least fifteen years of his life to stealing manuscripts, paintings, and objects from cultural heritage institutions and antique dealers in Atlantic Canada and, briefly, Russia. His criminal career came to a halt in July 2012, when a police officer who pulled over Tillman's car discovered that Tillman had a 1758 letter written by General James Wolfe and a check for $1500 in his possession. At roughly the same time the authorities determined that the letter had been stolen from Dalhousie University's Killam Library, Tillman's girlfriend accused him of assaulting her and holding her against her will and told the police that, by his own admission, his house was full of stolen materials. A search of Tillman's Halifax-area home yielded 7,000 items that had likely been purloined.

In September 2013, Tillman was sentenced to nine years in prison. He received leniency because he promised that he would help the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) return the items he stole to their rightful owners, and he has been talking. A lot. He's talked about his desire to be connected to historically significant people and events, about the thrill of thievery, about using his now-deceased mother and former girlfriends as knowing decoys, about his aversion to anything resembling a regular job, and about the luxurious lifestyle made possible by his thefts.

He's also told the RMCP officers assigned to his case about how he stole the Wolfe letter. Tillman befriended the former chief archivist of Dalhousie University (which tightened its security procedures in advance of Tillman's capture) and in 1998 surreptitiously obtained and then duplicated the key that secured the archives vault. Tillman and his then-girlfriend, a Russian woman known only as Katya, entered the library, hid out in a restroom until after the nighttime security guard left the building, and then accessed the vault. They found the Wolfe letter and a letter penned by George Washington, and, in Tillman's words, they "became so exuberant" that they, um, celebrated "right in the middle of all these papers and stuff strewn around."

Two thoughts:

• Dalhousie University colleagues, you have my deepest sympathies. Discovering that a thief has raided one's collections is always painful, and discovering that the thief has violated all kinds of other boundaries must be horrifying and infuriating.

• If you're ever tempted to make a special accommodation for a friendly and frequent researcher, leave your desk without taking your keys with you, or rush out without checking the restrooms and storage closets before locking up for the night, just remember that there are other John Mark Tillmans out there.

Greetings . . . and groans

In late February, I moved my parents from their condominium in northeastern Ohio to a retirement community in Troy, New York. The experience was intense, chaotic, and at times deeply surreal and hilarious, and it dragged on far longer than anyone thought possible. I made the common mistake of thinking that life would settle down relatively quickly after my parents arrived in Troy, and of course it didn't. My dad and I are still unpacking the last of the boxes, and we're still in the throes of trying to find new doctors, a new lawyer, and all kinds of other new things.

To make a long story short, between getting my parents settled in and getting back up to speed at work after taking repeated leaves of absence, I just haven't had time to deal with this blog or a lot of other things that are important to me. Fortunately, my parents are now feeling comfortable in their new homes and I'm feeling comfortable about stepping away a bit and getting my own life back into some semblance of order.

It's good to be back. For now, however, I'm going to pass on this horrifying tidbit and call it a day. By now, I'm sure most of you have heard of V. Stiviano, the young woman whose audio recording of the racist rantings of Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling recently led to Sterling's lifetime National Basketball Association ban. The news media first reported that Stiviano was Sterling's mistress and some accounts now suggest that she may have been trying to extort him, but Stiviano -- whose educational achievements are apparently rather modest -- insists that she was recording him in her capacity as his "archivist." People, we clearly need to do a better job of letting the world know what archivists do or how one becomes an archivist.

E-records job: Brigham Young University

If you have the theoretical knowledge and real-world experience needed to work with both paper and digital materials, possess a solid grasp of the history of Utah, the Mountain West, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, relish the challenge of pursuing tenure, are comfortable working in a faith-based environment that has unequivocal expectations regarding student and faculty conduct, and live or would like to live in the Utah Valley, Brigham Young University is seeking to hire a Curator of 21st Century Mormon and Western Manuscripts:

Brigham Young University (BYU), a privately owned and operated university of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints located in Provo, Utah, invites application for the position of Curator of 21st Century Mormon and Western Manuscripts. This is a continuing faculty status track (BYU equivalent of tenure) position. BYU, an equal opportunity employer, requires all faculty to observe the university's honor code and dress and grooming standards. Preference is given to qualified candidates who are members in good standing of the affiliated church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The Harold B. Lee Library, an ARL Library, serves nearly 33,000 students as well as 2,000 full- and part-time faculty. The library employs 66 faculty, 101 FTE staff and professionals, and approximately 200 FTE students. An average of 10,000 patrons per day use the library's services and collections of over nine million items.

Job Mission
The mission of this position is to identify, appraise, acquire, catalog, and preserve manuscript materials of enduring historical value related to Utah, the Western U.S., and Mormonism following accepted professional standards and practices.

This position is responsible for Mormon manuscripts from 2000 to the present, Trans-Mississippi West manuscripts from 2000 to the present, non-Mormon and non-literary manuscripts from 2000 to the present, local Utah County history from 2000 to the present, and Southeastern Idaho Mormon materials from 2000 to the present.

This position is also responsible for the professional papers program of Brigham Young University.

Major Accountabilities
University Citizenship

• Exemplifies honor and integrity; adheres to the standards of personal behavior outlined in the BYU Code of Honor.
• Supports the Library and University mission, goals, and objectives.
• Observes Library and University policies.
• Promotes collegiality and harmony.
• Mentors, encourages, advises, and collaborates with colleagues.
• Serves on Library, University, and consortia committees that go beyond assigned responsibilities.
• Attends department, Library, and University meetings, including devotionals, forums, and convocations.
• Serves the scholarly/professional community through activities such as:
• Holding office or performing committee service in relevant associations;
• Organizing professional meetings and/or panels; 
• Serving as a referee of scholarship; 
• Editing newsletters or journals; serving on editorial boards; 
• Consulting; 
• or Teaching in academic departments. 

Librarianship: Professional Assignment
Demonstrates effectiveness in specified professional responsibilities within:

• Technology/Digital Projects
• Develop and share expertise with the department in the management of born-digital records. 
• Employ emerging technologies, in cooperation with the Library Information Technology division, as appropriate in the accomplishment of responsibilities attendant to the position.
• Select appropriate materials from the 21st Century Mormon and Western Manuscripts collecting area for digitization or mounting on the Internet.
• Select appropriate materials from the Brigham Young University professional papers program for digitization or mounting on the web.

• Cataloging/Metadata
• Gather data necessary to prepare finding aids, catalog records, and metadata for digital collections. 
• Provide training on content standards for finding aids, catalog records, and metadata for digital collections.
•  Collection Development/Collection Management
  
• Represent the university in acquiring collections through accession, donation, or purchase.
• Negotiate and sign contracts that require the investment of university resources.
• Establish and maintain good relationships with past, present, and prospective donors.
• Travel, as necessary, on department business.
• Create and maintain collection development policies for the 21st Century Western and Mormon Manuscripts collecting area.
• Create and maintain collection development policies for the Brigham Young University professional papers program.
• Appraise collections to determine their relevance to the 19th Century Western and Mormon Manuscripts collecting area.
• Maintain good working relationships with the donors.
• Create and maintain donor files containing notes, acquisition records, preliminary inventories, correspondence, and contracts.
• Conservation/Preservation 
• Arrange collections, both physically and intellectually, according to accepted archival practice. Maintain collection case files containing research notes, inventories, cataloging data, and acquisition records.
• Properly house and store collections to ensure their long-term preservation.
• Identify and record physical locations of collections.
• Faculty Liaison/Promotion
• Work with faculty members to help them understand how to use the materials held in the 21st Century Western and Mormon Manuscripts collecting area and the Brigham Young University professional papers program as part of their teaching.
• Promote the value of archival records of faculty, staff, and administrators.
• Instruction/Information Literacy
• Prepare and present class presentations on Special Collections as requested.
• In collaboration with university faculty, develop and present physical and virtual exhibits drawn from collections in the 21st Century Western and Mormon Manuscripts collecting area. 
• Work with the Faculty Center to present information to Brigham Young University employees on the professional papers program 
• Reference/Research Support
• Respond promptly and efficiently to information requests from the administration, faculty, staff, students, and other researchers.
• Develop and maintain expertise in the archival collections related to the 21st Century Western and Mormon Manuscripts collecting area.
• Develop and maintain expertise in the collections related to the Brigham Young University professional papers program.
• Sets and accomplishes relevant goals within specified professional assignments.
• Participates in committees that are a direct outgrowth of assigned professional responsibilities, including the L. Tom Perry Special Collections Board of Curators.
• Achieves appropriate quantity and quality of work in assigned professional responsibilities.
• Uses sound judgment in decision-making.
• Manages personnel and resources effectively.

Librarianship: Professional Development

• Stays abreast of issues and trends in archives and archival management, born digital archives, Brigham Young University history, Mormon history, and 21st century U. S. history.
• Stays abreast of scholarship in archives and archival management, born-digital archives, Brigham Young University history, Mormon history, and 21st century U. S. history and other appropriate subject areas of expertise.
• Takes courses to enhance professional assignment and/or career opportunities.
• Studies professional literature.
• Attends appropriate conferences and workshops.
• Participates in appropriate professional associations. 

Librarianship: Scholarship/Creative Work

• Collaborates with other faculty in appropriate research endeavours.
• Presents research or innovative/unique information in the field(s) of archives and archival management, born-digital archives, Brigham Young University history, Mormon history, and 21st century U. S. History at conference, workshops, seminars, and/or other professional meetings.
• Publishes significant and original contributions relevant to archives and archival management, born-digital archives, Brigham Young University history, Mormon history, and 21st century U. S. History.
• Curates exhibits that highlight unique library materials with a unified theme and context, providing significant educational opportunities for the campus community.
• Performs other approved scholarship/creative works. 

Qualifications

• Master's degree in Library Science from an ALA-accredited institution with two years archival experience or equivalent Master's degree with archival training.
• Master's or PhD degree in History, preferred.
• Knowledge of strategies, such as digital forensics, and technology developed or adopted by the archival community for managing born-digital archival and manuscript material.
• Society of American Archivists' Digital Archives Specialist certification, preferred.
• Knowledge of legal and ethical issues affecting digital archival and special collections materials.
• Demonstrated disposition to evaluate the application of emerging technologies to the management of born-digital archival and manuscript material.
• Familiarity with archival collections management systems or databases.
• A demonstrated knowledge in Western U.S., Utah, and Mormon History.
• Demonstrated ability to appraise, arrange, and describe archival collections.
• Demonstrated ability with archival and library descriptive standards including Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS).
• Ability to supervise students, paraprofessionals, volunteers, and interns.
• Strong skills in communication (writing, speaking, and document editing).
• Skills in computer encoding with HTML and EAD.
• Ability to contribute to the profession through participation in professional organizations and involvement in research.
• Flexibility in adapting to changing departmental and organizational priorities and to ever-changing technological environments.
• Active participation in the archival profession through presentations, articles, committee participation and conference participation.
• Willingness to serve on departmental, library, and university committees.

Review of applications will commence on 21 January 2014, and the successful candidate will likely begin work in August.  Consult the position posting for additional information and detailed application instructions.

Long-time readers of this blog will no doubt realize that my views regarding the moral status and the legal rights of LGBT people -- even the "practicing" ones -- differ fundamentally from those articulated by the leadership of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They may also wonder whether posting this position might be construed as tacit acceptance of employment policies that I find discriminatory.  I've wrestled with this issue for a while, and I've decided to table my objections and allow readers to make their own decisions. At least one reader of this blog is well qualified for this job and might welcome the chance to work for a university that is affiliated with her church, and other readers may also be interested in this position.

Moreover, a lot of effort and care went into the crafting of this announcement, and I think that other archivists developing other job postings might find it extremely useful.  I love position descriptions that stress the importance of ongoing professional development, and it's plain that Brigham Young University expects its archivists to keep abreast of and contribute to the development of innovative practices and to remain actively involved in regional and national professional associations. In addition, I find the title of one subsection -- "Librarianship: Scholarship/Creative Work" -- nothing less than delightful. I've always thought of of exhibit development as an educational endeavor, not a creative one, but on second thought I realize that I enjoy developing exhibits because of all of the creative choices available to me. The possibility that the person who takes this job might get to work on "other approved . . . creative works" is also intriguing. Finally, it's barely 2014, but Brigham Young University has the foresight -- and the resources -- needed to hire someone who will specialize exclusively in twenty-first century materials. That's pretty impressive.

E-records job: State Historical Society of Kansas (application deadline 24 January 2014)

Happy New Year, and apologies for the long silence 'round these parts. I've spent the past few weeks yo-yo'ing between Ohio, where I grew up and where my parents are still living, and upstate New York, where I now live and where my parents will very soon reside. Between trying (and all too often failing) to keep up with work and helping my dad downsize, pack, and plan this move, I've had to let a few things go, and this blog is one of many things that I've pushed aside.  I know that I've let more than a few job postings get past me (among them a Utah State Archives position that closed yesterday), and I'm sorry about that. Given that I'm going to be in Albany for a couple of weeks and that it's too darned cold to do anything except hunker down indoors, I should be able to devote some more time to this blog.

If you've got some solid data gathering and analysis and records management skills, would like to live in a smallish Midwestern city, and relish the prospect of working at a state archives that has been doing interesting things with electronic records, you might be the Kansas State Historical Society's new Policy & Program Analyst (Electronic Records Archivist):

The Kansas State Historical Society seeks to hire a Policy & Program Analyst (Electronic Records Archivist) to support the State Archives Division’s implementation of a trusted digital repository -- the Kansas Enterprise Electronic Preservation (KEEP) digital archives.

The Policy & Program Analyst will:

• Promote use of the KEEP digital archives by Kansas government agencies.
• Coordinate the transfer of permanent electronic records to KEEP.
• Develop and update KEEP digital archives policies and procedures.
• Identify long-term records impacted by new Kansas state government information technology projects subject to branch Chief Information Technology Officer (CITO) review and approval.
• Ensure that CITO-reportable project plans include appropriate provisions for managing and preserving long-term records, including the transfer of permanent records to KEEP.
• Provide records management consulting services to Kansas government agencies.
• Prepare new and revised records retention and disposition schedules for Kansas State Records Board review.
• Serve as a subject matter expert in the domains of electronic records management and digital preservation.

Minimum Qualifications
Four years of experience in collecting, evaluating, studying or reporting on statistical, economic, fiscal/budget, legislative or administrative data. Education may be substituted for experience as determined by the agency.  Preferred experience includes:  electronic records and information management; digital preservation; application of automated information management systems to records management, archives, or business environments.

Requires knowledge of:

• records and information management methods and best practices;
• standards and best practices related to trusted digital repositories including, but not limited to, the following:
  • Open Archival Information System (OAIS): ISO 14721:2012
  • Audit and Certification of Trustworthy Digital Repositories: ISO 16363:2012
  • Producer-Archive Interface - Methodology Abstract Standard (PAIMAS): ISO 20652:2006 
• electronic information systems;
• digital preservation methods and best practices;
• archival methods and best practices;
• business process analysis methods and best practices;
• enterprise architecture methodologies;
• project management methods and best practices;
• metadata standards for archives, records management, and digital preservation including, but not limited to, the following:
  • Metadata Encoding Transmission Standard (METS)
  • Dublin Core
  • PREMIS (preservation metadata)
  • Encoded Archival Description (EAD)
• American history with special emphasis on western and Kansas history;
• archives and special collections reference techniques and best practices;
• historical research methods.

Requires ability to:

• manage projects;
• negotiate and administer contracts;
• work with a variety of people and in a team environment;
• balance multiple projects;
• meet deadlines;
• express ideas clearly, orally and in writing, to groups with varying expertise in the relevant subject matter.

Preferred Qualifications
Master’s degree in public or business administration, library or information science with an archival administration concentration, or a related field.

The successful candidate will receive a salary equivalent to an hourly wage of $22.16, health insurance, and retirement benefits. The application deadline is 24 January 2014. Consult the job posting for more information and detailed application instructions.

Best Practices Exchange 2013: digital imaging, data management, and innovation

 The 2013 Best Practices Exchange (BPE) ended last Friday, and I wrote this entry as I was flying from Salt Lake City to Ohio, where I spent a few days tending to some family matters. I've been back in Albany for about 46 hours, but I haven't had the presence of mind needed to move this post off my iPad until just now.

I'm leaving this BPE as I've left past BPE's: excited about the prospect of getting back to work yet so tired that I feel as if I'm surrounded by some sort of distortion field.

The last BPE session featured presentations given by Jason Pierson of FamilySearch and Joshua Harman of Ancestry.com, and I just want to pass along a few interesting tidbits and observations:

• Both firms view themselves as technology companies that focus on genealogy, not genealogy companies that make intensive use of technology. They work closely with archives and libraries, but their overall mission and orientation are profoundly different from those of cultural heritage institutions. And that's okay.

• Both firms have opted to encode the preservation masters of their digital surrogates in JPEG2000 format instead of the more popular TIFF format. They've discovered that, if necessary, they can create good TIFF images from JPEG2000 files and that JPEG2000 files are more resistant to bit rot than TIFF files. The loss of a single bit can make a TIFF file completely unrenderable, but JPEG2000 files may be fully renderable even if they're missing several bits. However, the relative robustness of JPEG2000 files can also be problematic: JPEG2000 files that are so badly corrupted that only blurs of color will be displayed may remain technically renderable (i.e., software that can read JPEG2000 files may open and display such files without notifying users that the files are corrupt. One firm discovered well after the fact that it had created tens thousands of completely unusable yet ostensibly readable JPEG2000 files. 

• Ancestry has developed some really neat algorithms that automatically adjust the contrast on sections of an image. Most contrast corrections lighten or darken entire images, but Ancestry's tool adjusts the contrast only on those sections of an image that are hard to read because they are either too light or too dark. Ancestry has also developed algorithms that automatically enhance images and facilitate optical character recognition (OCR) scanning of image files. As you might imagine, attendees were really interested in making use of these algorithms, and Harmon and other Ancestry staffers present indicated that the company would be willing to share them provided that doing so wouldn't violate any patents. (I share this interest, but I think that archives owe it to researchers to document the use of such tools. Failure to do so can leave the impression that the original document or microfilm image is in much better shape than it is and cause researchers to suspect that the digital surrogate has also been subjected to other, more sinister manipulations.) 

• FamilySearch and Ancestry may well have the largest corporate data troves in the world. FamilySearch is scanning vast quantities of microfilm and paper documents and generates approximately 40 terabytes (yes, terabytes) of data per day. They're currently using Tessella's Safety Deposit Box to process the files and a mammoth tape library to store all this data. At present, they're trying to determine whether Amazon Glacier is an appropriate storage option; if Glacier doesn't work out, FamilySearch will likely build a mammoth data center somewhere in the Midwest. Ancestry is also scanning mammoth quantities of paper and microfilmed records and currently has approximately 10 petabytes (yes, petabytes) of data in its Utah data center. 

• After a lot of struggle, Ancestry learned that open source and commercial software work really well for tasks and processes that aren't domain-specific but not so well for unique, highly specialized functions. For example, Ancestry discovered that none of the available tools could handle a high-volume and geographically dispersed scanning operation involving roughly 1,400 discreet types of paper and microfilmed records, so it devoted substantial time and effort to developing its own workflow management system. Archives and libraries typically don't deal with such vast quantities or such varied originals, and I think it makes sense for cultural heritage professionals to focus on developing digitization workflow best practices and standards that are broadly applicable. However, Ancestry's broader point is well-taken; sometimes, building one's own tools makes more sense than trying to make do with someone else's tools. 

• FamilySearch and Ancestry have a lot more freedom to innovate -- and to cope with the accompanying risk of failure -- than state archives and state libraries. Pierson and Harman both emphasized the importance of taking big risks and treating failure as an opportunity to learn and grow, but, as one attendee pointed out, government entities tend to be profoundly risk-averse. In some respects, this is understandable: a private corporation that missteps has to answer only to its investors or shareholders, but a government agency or office that blunders is accountable to the news media and the tax paying public. However, if we sit around on our hands and wait for other people to solve our problems, we'll never get anywhere. I've long been of the opinion that those of us who work in government repositories and who are charged with preserving digital information need to keep reminding our colleagues and our managers that as far as digital preservation is concerned, we really have only two choices: do something and accept that we might fail, or do nothing and accept that we will fail. I'm now even more convinced that we need to keep doing so.

Image: the Utah State Capitol, as seen from the 12th floor of the Radisson Salt Lake City Downtown, 14 November 2013.

Best Practices Exchange 2013: movies, partnerships, and stories

 I wasn't feeling particularly well yesterday, and when I walked into the closing discussion of the 2013 Best Practices Exchange (BPE), I found myself thinking I would have a really hard time explaining to my colleagues what I learned at this year's BPE; I loved every session I attended, but I didn't believe that I could pull together any coherent thoughts about them. Fortunately, Patricia Smith-Mansfield (State Archivist of Utah) and Ray Matthews (Utah State Library) were fantastic discussion moderators, and the questions they asked and the insights offered by several other BPE attendees really helped me to make sense of yesterday's events. Thanks, guys!

Yesterday, Milt Shefter of the Science and Technology Council of the Motion Picture Academy of Arts and Sciences delivered an excellent lunchtime presentation that focused upon the Academy's efforts to address the digital preservation issues facing the motion picture industry and individual filmmakers. Filmmaking is becoming a digital enterprise, and filmmakers and production companies are facing a host of new challenges: file formats change so quickly that films produced as recently as five years ago may no longer be renderable, video files require vast quantities of storage space, there are no widely accepted preservation standards, and the need to migrate to newer storage media every five to ten years poses a particular risk to files that may be viewed more as products than as works of art.

Shefter asserted that the industry and filmmakers are keenly aware of the need for open, widely accepted standards and a storage medium robust and durable enough to withstand some benign neglect but lack the clout needed to push hardware and software manufacturers in this direction. Even in my stupor, I was struck by this assertion. The motion picture industry is a multi-billion dollar enterprise; surely it has more clout than the archival and library communities! However, I didn't put two and two together until someone pointed out this morning that perhaps the Academy and the cultural heritage community should consider establishing a formal partnership around storage, format, and preservation issues. This isn't exactly a new idea -- the Library of Congress's National Digital Information Infrastructure Preservation Program brought together archives, libraries, the motion picture industry, the recording industry, the video game industry, and others seeking to preserve digital content -- but it's one that merits further exploration.

Immediately after Shefter's speech ended, Sundance Institute Archives Coordinator Andrew Rabkin introduced a screening of These Amazing Shadows, a documentary that traces the development of the (U.S.) National Film Registry, a Library of Congress-led initiative to identify and preserve motion pictures of cultural, historical, or aesthetic significance. Both Rabkin and the film itself stressed that motion pictures insinuate themselves into our collective consciousness because they tell emotionally compelling stories in visually arresting ways, and during this morning's closing discussion one attendee stated that the film left her convinced that we as a community need to identify compelling stories about the importance of digital preservation and to tell them in a vivid, attention-grabbing manner.

I couldn't agree more. All too often, people (a few archivists among them) think that electronic files lack the gripping content and emotional intensity found in paper records and personal papers.  However, electronic records and personal files can be as compelling as any paper document. We're talking not only about spreadsheets and databases -- both of which can be deeply compelling to someone who has a certain type of information need -- but also about photographs of babies and the remains of the World Trade Center site, videos documenting weddings and natural disasters, audio files capturing the oral histories of relatives who have since died and musical performances of world-class symphonies, geospatial data documenting real property boundaries and the location of hazardous waste sites, e-mail messages containing professions of love and evidence of criminal activity, and a whole bunch of other immensely valuable, emotionally resonant, practically useful things. Most people know this on some level, but they don't fully realize just how fragile these files are or how devastating their loss would be.

Several documentary filmmakers are currently working on films that focus on digital preservation initiatives and the loss of important digital content, but we need more effort on this front. I vividly recall seeing the Council on Library and Information Resources' Into the Future: On the Preservation of Information in the Digital Age (1998) on PBS, and this film -- more than any of the readings I did in graduate school -- kept popping into my head as I pondered whether I really wanted to make the jump from descriptive archivist to electronic records archivist. We need gripping, story-driven films that highlight the terrible risks to which digital content is subject and the ways in which we can ensure that important content is preserved. These films must speak not only to archivists and wannabe archivists but to the general public and to elected officials and other key stakeholders. (And Into the Future, which is now available only on VHS tape, needs to be transferred onto DVD or, better yet, placed online.)

Image: Snow on the Wasatch Mountains, as seen from Interstate 15 northbound between Lehi and Sandy, Utah, 14 November 2013.

Best Practices Exchange 2013: Web archiving

I've been up for a long time and I'm a little under the weather, so I'm going to highlight a couple of cool things that Scott Reed of Archive-It shared this morning and then call it a day:

First, Scott highlighted a tool that's new to me: computer systems engineer Vangelis Banos has developed Archive Ready, a site that enables website creators and people archiving websites to assess the extent to which a given site can be archived using Web crawling software. Simply type the URL of the site into a text box and click a button, and Archive Ready assesses:

• The extent to which the site can be accessed by Web crawlers
• The cohesion of the site's content (i.e., whether content is hosted on a single resource or scattered across multiple resources and services) 
• The degree to which the site was created according to recognized standards
• The speed with which the host server responds to access requests
• The extent to which metadata that supports appropriate rendering and long-term preservation is present

Archive Ready also runs basic HTML/CSS validity checks, analyzes HTTP headers, highlights the presence of Flash and Quicktime objects and externally hosted image files, looks for sitemap.xml files, RSS links, and robots.txt files, and determines whether the Internet Archive has crawled the site and converted the results to WARC format.

Archive Ready has apparently engendered some controversy, but it's a handy resource for anyone seeking to capture and preserve Web content. Based upon my very limited experience with Archive Ready, which is still in beta testing, I have to say that it might not be able to locate streaming videos located deep within large websites. However, I have to say that it's overall assessments seem pretty accurate; I entered the URLs of several sites that we've crawled repeatedly, and the sites that we've been able to capture without incident consistently received high scores from Archive Ready and the sites that have given us lots of problems consistently received low scores.  If you're archiving websites, I encourage you to devote a little time to playing around with this nifty tool.

Scott also reported that the Internet Archive is looking to develop new tools to capture social media content and other types of media-heavy content that Heritrix, its Web crawler, simply can't capture properly.  To the greatest extent possible, the Internet Archive will integrate these new tools and the content they capture into its existing capture and discovery mechanisms. Capturing social media content is a real challenge (and if I weren't so tired, I would blog about the great social media archiving presentation that Rachel Trent of the North Caorlina State Archives gave this afternoon). It's good to see that new options may be on the horizon.

Image: quotation above the doorway to the library of the Church History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah, 14 November 2013. The Church History Library houses archival and library materials that chronicle the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its members from 1830 to the present.