Digital Preservation Standard

Noolaham Foundation has adopted the NDSA Levels of Digital Preservation recommendations as its digital preservation standard. The standards address practices across the following major areas: 1. Storage and Geographic Location, 2. File Fixity and Data Integrity, 3. Information Security, 4. Metadata, and 5. File Formats.

Storage and Geographic Location

1. NDSA Recommendation: Three complete copies of data are kept in separate geographic locations with different disaster threats.

NF Implementation: Data is stored in three continents.

File Fixity and Data Integrity

1. NDSA Recommendation: File fixity be checked on ingest if provided, or created on ingest if not provided.

NF Implementation: Noolaham Foundations creates checksum manifest when creating the Archival Information Packages (AIP).

2. NDSA Recommendation: Use write-blockers when working with original media

NF Implementation: We only work with copy of the original files

3. NDSA Recommendation: Virus-check high risk content & virus check all content

NF Implementation: not an active use case

4. NDSA Recommendation: Check fixity of content at fixed intervals & detect corrupt data. Check fixity of all content in response to specific events or activities.

NF Implementation: Not yet implemented.

5. NDSA Recommendation: Maintain logs of fixity information & Supply audit on demand.

NF Implementation: not an active use case

6. NDSA Recommendation: Ensure no one person has write access to all copies

NF Implementation: Once the copies are transferred to respective custodians, no one person has access to them

Information Security

1. NDSA Recommendation: When you can give input into the creation of digital files encourage use of a limited set of known open formats and codecs Inventory of file formats in use.

NF Implementation: NF has a strict set of file formats it supports.

2. NDSA Recommendation: Monitor file format obsolescence issues & perform format migrations.

NF Implementation: We audit file formats to ensure their continuous operation.

Metadata

1. NDSA Recommendation: Identify who has read, write, move and delete authorization to individual files & restrict who has those authorizations to individual files

NF Implementation: Yet to be implemented.

2. NDSA Recommendation: Maintain logs of who performed what actions on files, including deletions and preservation actions & perform audit of logs

NF Implementation: not an active use case

File Formats

1. NDSA Recommendation: When you can give input into the creation of digital files encourage use of a limited set of known open formats and codecs Inventory of file formats in use.

NF Implementation: NF has a strict set of file formats it supports.

2. NDSA Recommendation: Monitor file format obsolescence issues & perform format migrations.

NF Implementation: We audit file formats to ensure their continuous operation.