Articles

This paper describes the eXtensible Characterisation Languages (XCL) that support the automatic validation of document conversions and the evaluation of migration quality by hierarchically decomposing a document and representing documents from different sources in an abstract XML language. The description language XCDL provides an abstract representation of digital content in XML, while the extraction language XCEL allows an extraction engine to create such an abstract description by mapping file format structures to XCDL concepts.
The article presents the context of the development of these languages and tools and describes the overall concept and features of the languages. Furthermore examples are given and it is shown how the languages can be applied to the evaluation of digital preservation solutions in the context of preservation planning.
Read the article in Journal of Universal Computer Science

Abstract: "The preservation of digital objects requires specific software tools or services. These can be characterisation tools that abstract the essential characteristics of a digital object from a file, migration tools that convert digital objects to different formats, or emulation tools that render digital objects in their original context on a new infrastructure. Until recently digital preservation has been characterised by practices and processes that could best be described as more art and craft than science. The Planets Testbed provides a controlled environment where preservation tools can be tested and evaluated, and where experiment results can be empirically compared. This paper presents an overview of the Testbed application, an analysis of the experiment methodology and a description of the Testbed’s web service approach."

Code4Lib Journal, Issue 3, 2008-06-23
Read the article in Code4Lib Journal

Taken from the abstract: "In this article we present the methodology and initial results from qualitative research into the usage and communication of digital information. It considers the motivation for the research and the methodologies adopted, including Contextual Design and Cultural Probes. The article describes the preliminary studies conducted to test the approach, highlighting the strengths and limitations of the techniques applied. Finally, it outlines proposals for refinement in subsequent iterations and the future research activities planned. The research is carried out as part of the Planets (Preservation and Long-term Access through NETworked Services) project."
Read the article in D-LIB Magazine

Abstract: "The Planets Project is developing services and technology to address core challenges in digital preservation. This article introduces the motivation for this work, describes the extensible technical architecture and places the Planets approach into the context of the Open Archival Information System (OAIS) Reference Model. It also provides a scenario demonstrating Planets’ usefulness in solving real-life digital preservation problems and an overview of the project’s progress to date."

The article was published in International Journal of Digital Curation, Vol 2, No 2 (2007).
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