In a previous post, I introduced the concept of digital resiliency and shared foundational questions to ask regarding digital preservation at your museum. I recommended a shift from just digital preservation toward digital resiliency. In preparation for building up digital resilience, we covered common challenges with museum digital collections.
With this basis established, we’re now ready to look at the components of digital resilience and learn how to put them together. This post will offer an overview of two primary aspects of digital collection health: digital file integrity and digital file access. These elements determine the overall digital file health of your collections and inform its level of digital precarity (or risk).
What is Digital File Integrity?
Digital file integrity refers to the wholeness and stability of the file. A digital file should be intact and unaltered from its form upon creation. This means it should maintain its original quality, format, and embedded data. The file should also be accessible (able to open) and function as originally intended.
How to Build Digital File Integrity
To strengthen digital resiliency through file integrity, focus on the following factors:
- Quality
- Format
- Version control
- Checksums
Digital File Integrity Factor #1: File Quality
This element can be measured in a few different ways. As we’ll discuss under checksums below, I recommend keeping this area broad. Begin by asking: Does the file present the quality expected when opened?
Typically, a visual cue (such as distortion or color loss) is the first sign of a digital preservation issue. Early detection through visual review can help prevent further digital file degradation.
Digital File Integrity Factor #2: Format
Related to the visual cue of quality, it’s also important to review the format. Specialized file types can experience difficulty in format retention, especially if you’re forced to open them in a software program that didn’t originally create that file. Standardizing and maintaining digital file formats whenever possible is a crucial piece of resilience building.
Digital File Integrity Factor #3: Version Control
Digital files that are actively used often accumulate multiple versions. If your museum uses collections management software (CMS) or digital asset management (DAM), versioning is likely tracked automatically.
However, without version control in place, a file can evolve beyond the point where it’s considered the original file. Simply viewing a file can lead to data loss each time it’s opened. Maintaining clear version naming and good file hygiene practices is key to negating versioning issues and ensuring the original file remains intact.
Digital File Integrity Factor #4: Checksums
Checksums are a unique fingerprint that exists for every file. When a preservation process is in place, there are tools available that will identify the checksum of each file that can then be referenced in future file health checks.
If a file’s checksum changes unexpectedly, we know there’s a preservation issue that needs to be mitigated. As files age, they naturally degrade, losing (literal) bits of themselves unless “bit rot” is carefully safeguarded against. Checksums allow early detection and intervention.
Digital File Access
The ability to successfully access a digital file requires both healthy hardware and software. If there is no avenue to access the file, then unfortunately, the work put into maintaining digital file integrity is moot. To safeguard file access, ensure you have:
- Quality storage hardware
- Appropriate, updated storage software
- Regular software maintenance and security updates
- Routine hardware maintenance and replacements
Additional Reading
For detailed guidance on establishing digital file integrity and access, along with suggested processes, please see these previously published posts on Lucidea’s Think Clearly blog:
- Museum Digital File Preservation: File Integrity (October 2022)
- Museum Digital File Preservation: File Access (October 2022)
- Museum Digital Projects: Digital File Storage (February 2023)
Onward to Detecting and Repairing Problems
This post outlined the elements to consider when assessing digital file integrity and the critical role file access plays. With a clear understanding of digital file integrity and access, we can better build toward digital resiliency and ensure long-term file access.
In the next post in this series, we’ll explore how to detect and repair digital preservation problems to keep your museum’s collections safe and secure for the future.
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