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Three breakout groups were convened at the meeting on 22nd November:
Collection management
Digital preservation
Technology
Notes from these breakout groups are given below.
Collection management
This discussion started with a general theme, but quickly focused in on research data management as a key topic and issue for those present.
RDM potentially needs complex objects
Hydra is currently trying to keep its approach to RDM simple
More complex approaches need more maintenance
Hydra hasn’t (yet?) got detailed tooling for dealing well with children, but this is increasingly being incorporated in Hydra head developments as a requirement
No repository will ever be able to capture all the data from an institution; it may have to fulfill a cataloguing role for stuff held elsewhere.
If so, is it worth using a local repository? Why not put everything into subject repositories?
But: there may be considerable barriers to deposit and retrieval that a local repository can better address
Have institutions the capability to *preserve* data?
What we see at the moment is the tip of a very large data iceberg
Academics need to be more aware of the need to manage and preserve data
Need to consider dealing with data from theses
Repositories should be capable of dealing sensibly with an original and a redacted version
Hydra’s architecture is designed to accommodate evolving needs
Linking versions and manifestations is important
Digital preservation
Those in the group brought a range of perspectives – informed by a range of material from digitised to born-digital.
(LSE, Oxford) - inheriting entire machines (not just files); first question “What did it look like [working]?” – emulation would be essential
(U East London) - mix of born-digital and research data – trying to bring it all together – with preservation being a key common area
(Northumberland Estate) - looking at repository / Sharepoint workflows and processes
Themes:
1) What did it look like originally?
2) Take what you get – preserve what you receive – versioning is critical
3) How to form an integral workflow?
4) Systems/processes often better for external depositors than internal departments – convincing people the value of preserving “stuff”, that the research mandate might be useful with this.
Misc
Interesting ideas that were raised during the day include:
The ability to capture and record additional tagging or commentary by academics or transcriptions
Whether to ingest the disc image / tar file as 1 asset (not create an object for every file) as Oxford were, then index the tar file and use seek and sub-address
Emulation – platforms exist for all windows OS – throw disk image at this [interesting idea but what about the broader sense of collections – ie over several accruals?] but possibly more relevant where servers had been received etc.
How best to exchange information – i.e., other Hydra users with archival content – approaching / tackling similar issues etc.
Technology
What constitutes a Hydra object?
Fedora requires DC/RELS-EXT, and Hydra requires rightsMetadata. Hydra enables complete customisation of other datastreams according to your desired object model
How to define a content model?
Content models within Hydra are simply a one-to-one mapping between the RELS-EXT hasModel statement and the Ruby models you define in your Hydra application
Hydra with other repository engines?
ActiveFedora, Databank, ActiveDspace? (ActiveRepository gem?)
Interest in Ruby on Rails training opportunities
Omniversity in Manchester have provided a 2 day Ruby on Rails workshop
Suggestions, online - http://www.edx.org/ - CS169.1x: Software as a Service – Ruby on Rails software as a service training
Interest in a European Hydra camp
What authentication options exist in Hydra?
Single users, Groups, LDAP, simple db auth? – An attendee spoke of a need to have various authentication methods in a single hydra-head.