Building a resilient digital collection requires knowledge, tools, and processes to be successful. Due to the complex nature of digital file preservation and the multiple mechanisms needed, consistent success depends on having a plan.
Previously, I shared foundational questions to ask about digital preservation at your museum and recommended a shift from simply preserving digital files to building digital resiliency.
We then covered the technical and logistical challenges museums face with digital collections and specific elements involved in building resilient digital collections. This post concludes our exploration of building digital resiliency with the final two elements: protect and plan.
Protect with Digital File Backups
Protecting our digital collections requires proactive work. As echoed in my previous posts, repairing or recovering digital files is almost always predicated on previous effort to preserve the file. With that in mind, digital file backups are one of the easiest and most effective ways to increase digital resiliency.
If you’re fortunate to be at a museum with a preservation system in place, then backups are already a part of your system. If you don’t have a preservation system in place, that’s OK. It’s fairly easy to build a backup system. If you’re pursuing the DIY route, then make sure the elements outlined below are included in your digital file backup plan.
Digital File Backups Goal: To create digital file redundancy and ensure future file access. Effective backups of digital files should be:
- Stored in 2-3 geographically separate locations
- Scheduled to take partial and full backups at a regular cadence
- Run consistently (if scheduling is not an option)
- Supported by regular hardware replacements
- Regularly tested and audited for reliability
A consistent digital file backup system is the backbone of a resilient digital collection program and is critical to protecting digital files for future access.
Additional Reading
For a deeper dive into implementing digital file storage and backup, please see these previously published posts on Lucidea’s Think Clearly blog:
- Museum Digital File Preservation: File Access (October 2022)
- Museum Digital Projects: Digital File Storage (February 2023)
Building a Digital Resilience Plan for Your Museum
Now that we’ve reviewed the elements necessary for building digital resilience, it’s time to assemble a plan for creating digital resilience at your museum. Some elements may look different depending on the resources and tools available to you, but an ideal digital resilience plan should include:
- Guidelines for acceptable file format types
- A scheduled backup plan (automatic or manual)
- File integrity checks (a tool paired with a schedule)
- Periodic audits to spot-check opening files
- Proactive strategies for how digital files will be repaired or replaced
A plan doesn’t need to be long to be effective. It needs to be actionable and specific. Once you create your digital resilience plan and put your tools and processes in place, test and reiterate as needed. Revising your process over time will help to ensure an effective and resilient program.
Hope for the Best, Prepare for the Worst
Building up digital resiliency involves more than just digital preservation measures. The key to resiliency lies in how prepared we are for when loss happens. To be at its most effective, a resiliency plan requires prior application of knowledge, tools, and processes before any loss occurs.
Taking the time to put each piece in place is an investment in resiliency and will safeguard your digital collections against future threats–whether from human error, natural disasters, or other unforeseen circumstances.
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