The ADS Guides to Good Practice have been around for a while now but like all digital materials, they require constant updating. Indeed, the pace of digital development within archaeology has been so rapid that discussions about digital preservation become virtually outdated just as quickly. There is a risk, therefore, in the production of a hard copy version of this latest offering from the ADS; there is a downloadable version available on-line but at the same time printed matter is far more comforting for those who need this sort of basic introduction and guide.
There are three main sections: ‘Digital Archiving: An Introduction to this Guide; ‘Planning for the Creation of Digital Material’; ‘Common Digital Objects’, followed by an extensive and invaluable bibliography, which in its on-line form will doubtless receive regular updates. In Part 1, the audience at which this Guide is aimed is divided into those who fund and create data and those who care for or curate it. That means just about everyone involved in archaeology, including non-professionals and this work is just as comprehensive. Part 1 introduces the question ‘What is digital archiving?’ and the whole thing closes with discussions of different approaches to the archiving of document files, databases and images. To get from that opening question to the concluding technicalities, the reader is led step by step thorough the digital preservation and access maze, with sections covering approaches to digital archiving, data creation and capture, file naming conventions, storage and backup, data selection, project documentation, metadata and copyright. It is true that the Guide becomes more detailed as it progresses but that is how it should be and by the end it is hard to imagine that any topic has not been covered. A lot has been covered in just 113 pages and the tables that appear towards the end, listing file formats and their archival validity, show how comprehensive this Guide is: “.JPG, .JPEG; this is commonly used but is not an archival format… DNG or TIF should be used instead”. Digital files creators take note: this will not only help you, it will also educate and it is hoped, lead you to amend your current working practices.
This, though, is the key to the success of this Guide: how far-reaching is the advice it contains. All too often such publications are not adopted by the practitioners that need them most, not just the creators of digital material but also those who monitor the production of it, along with all other archaeological archival components, and also those have the responsibility for caring for it and making it accessible. We are a long way from universal adoption of advice such as this and the concomitant improvement in our working practices but credit to the ADS for continuing to show us the way. The ADS is, increasingly, the repository of choice for those with responsibility for ensuring the successful archival transfer of digital material and this guide sets out exactly what they expect from those who do this. The use of digital technology in archaeology may be growing faster than ever but at the same time it is clear that there is no excuse for not ensuring that our data is properly structured, accessible and preserved.