The 2019 Storage Infrastructure Report, released by the NDSA in late February, offers a much needed glimpse into how academic librarians are currently handling digital storage for their institutions. In another segment of the NISO Interview series, Jill O'Neill sat down with three of the report authors to discuss the findings and possible next steps. This audio interview includes the voices of:
- Nathan Tallman, Digital Preservation Librarian, Penn State University
- Laura Alagna, Digital Preservation Librarian, Northwestern University
- Carol Kussman, Digital Preservation Analyst, University of Minnesota.
For a quick overview of that report before you listen to the discussion, see the brief summary of the report that appeared here on NISO I/O.
Questions Posed to Nathan Tallman, Laura Alagna, and Carol Kussman
Please introduce for our audience what the NDSA is and the role it played in sponsoring this survey and subsequent support?
What set of stakeholders do you think should be most engaged with the findings of this survey? Who should be reading this report? Is it primarily of value to information professionals and administrators in the context of higher education? Or are there opportunities for other stakeholders from the information community?
The 2019 Storage Infrastructure Survey Report had as its goal to “gather information and insights on new trends, technologies, standards, and practices that have impacted preservation storage”. The NDSA had conducted similar surveys in 2011 and 2013. What did the members of this working group expect to learn by doing a survey in 2019?
What do you think are the most important findings that have emerged from this survey for the information community?
Can you outline for the NISO audience the process that was used in gathering the data, the make-up of the Working Group and the final development of the report?
One of the significant leaps in technological development that occurred between the 2013 and the 2019 was the introduction of cloud technology. What has the cloud come to mean for storage of digital content for academic institutions? Are there concerns about older infrastructure in place that may not be sufficient for digital storage needs?
Are best practices emerging with regard to digital storage? Do the survey results offer indications of conventional practices that might be standardized? Or do they indicate potential gaps that may be on the horizon?