DATA CURATION PRESERVATION ISSUES (THREATS TO DIGITAL MATERIALS)

DATA CURATION PRESERVATION ISSUES (THREATS TO DIGITAL MATERIALS) DORA BANDA (MLIS0122) In the modern information world, data curation has emerged as a crucial procedure for administration and preservation of digital materials. Institutions and research organisations are producing and storing enormous amounts of digital data content due to the quick development of digital technologies. Digital resources are vulnerable to technological, organisational, and environmental and security related risks, making their preservation a significant issue despite the benefits of digital information. In order to guarantee digital resources long term accessibility, authenticity and usability a variety of tasks (organising, managing preserving) are included in data curation (Abbot, 2008). One of the most significant preservation issues affecting digital materials is technological obsolescence. Digital resources are highly dependent on hardware, software, file formats and operating systems for access and usability. However, technological advancement occurs rapidly, causing existing technologies to become outdated within a short period. As software applications and storage devices become obsolete, digital files created using older technologies may become in accessible. For instance, files stored on floppy disks or created using outdated software applications may no longer be opened on modern computer systems. Harvey (2010) argues that technological obsolescence represents one of the greatest threats to digital preservation because access to digital information is entirely technology dependent. Preservation of digital materials is likewise threatened by media deterioration. Even while digital data is frequently thought of as permanent, the actual media used to store it are susceptible to deterioration and damage overtime. Flash drives, Compact disks, CDs, etc are examples of devices with short lifespans and unpredictable failures. The danger of data loss and corruption is further increased by environmental conditions such as heat, humidity etc (Corado, 2007). Furthermore, cybersecurity risks have become a significant issue for digital preservation. Digital collections are now vulnerable to threats including hacking, viruses, malware, ransomware and unauthorised access because to the growing reliance on digital technologies. Digital records may be destroyed, stolen, altered or corrupted as a result of these dangers, jeopardising their dependability and legitimacy. Because of the nature of the data they contain, information centres that oversee digital collections are especially susceptible to assaults. Sayao and Sales (2012) noted that one of the key duties data curation is to preserve the validity and integrity of digital information. Data deluge in which the quick expansion of digital information surpasses storage an administration capabilities in another problem in digital preservation because files might be lost, altered or corrupted over time, it is equally to maintain confidence and authenticity in digital resources. Therefore, in order to provide dependable access to digital materials, institutions must set up systematic preservation methods, backup systems and data integrity safeguards To sum up, digital preservation is a crucial component of data curation since in guarantees that digital information will remain dependable, accessible and useful for upcoming generations. However, there are several threats to digital resources, such as media deterioration, cybersecurity hazards, technology obsolescence, data deluge and technological infrastructure. These difficulties show that digital preservation is a difficult and continual process that calls that information centres must implement efficient preservation principles and practice References Abbott (2008).What is digital curation? Edinburgh: Digital curation Centre. Corado, E. M,. & Moulaison Sandy, H.(2007) Digital preservation for libraries, archives and musems.-2nd ed.Rowman & Littlefield. Harvey, R. (2010).Digital curation:a how-to-do-it manual.Neal-Schuman Publishers. Sayao, l & Sales L.(2012).Curating and preserving research data in e-science. Journal of information Science,38(6),520-532.