PERSIST at iPRES2016

By Unesco PERSIST on 29 September 2016 • ( 0 )

From 3 – 6 October 2016, the 13th edition of iPRES, the international conference on digital preservation will take place in Bern, Switzerland. PERSIST actively contributes to iPRES with a Panel that will focus on virtualization and emulation and a Workshop that will solicit input from the audience on the PERSIST initiative.

1) Panel on Software Sustainability and Preservation: Implications for the Long-Term Access to Digital Heritage (Tuesday, Oct 4, 1pm-2:30pm)

Participants: Euan Cochrane, Jessica Meyerson, Natasa Milic-Frayling, David Rosenthal and Zach Vowell

Digital content and data require software for interpretation, processing, and use. This requirement raises the issue of sustaining software functionality beyond its prime use, when it is fully supported and maintained. Virtualization and emulation are two techniques that can encapsulate software in its functional form; furthermore, emulation has recently gained traction as a viable option for long-term access to digital objects. At the same time, archivists, librarians, and museum curators have begun concerted efforts to preserve software that is essential for accessing the digital heritage. In this context the members of the panel will discuss relevant work that they have been involved in to address the goal of software sustainability and preservation.

2) Workshop on How can the UNESCO PERSIST Programme Bring about Digital Sustainability through Legacy Software Services? (Workshop 11, Thursday, Oct 6’16 9am-12:30pm)

Participants: Janet Delve, David Anderson, Natasa Milic-Frayling, Christopher (Cal) Lee

This workshop will address the topic of sustained access to digital content by providing a legal framework and a technical platform for hosting and distributing functional legacy software. Both aspects represent key areas of the UNESCO PERSIST Programme that will focus on the preservation of the digital heritage under the UNESCO Memory of the World Programme. The objective of the workshop is to engage Digital Preservation Practitioners, Memory Organizations, the ICT industry and policy makers in the discussion of use cases for the international platforms of legacy software services, e.g., applications to preserving increasingly complex digital objects, engagement models among the stakeholders that would lead to revenue streams and economically sustainable services, and legal frameworks that ensure flexible use of legacy software in the far future, e.g., policies to guide life-cycle management of critical software and ‘fair use of software’ beyond its market lifespan.