• Share the Donor Guide and walk through the checklist carefully
• Clarify expectations regarding digital preservation and access
• Ask the donor the following questions to gain a broad understanding of the digital records
  • Location of computer workstations (on campus or at home)
  • Removable storage media (hard drives, USB flash drives, CDs, etc.)
  • Approximate date range of files
  • File types
  • Approximate quantity
• Conduct an initial survey of born-digital materials:
• Determine the appropriate survey method by consulting with the donor
• Conduct onsite surveys (in person) when possible

• Before acquisition, ask if the collection includes legally protected files, such as educational, medical, financial, criminal, attorney-client, and personnel records
• Inform the donor that the presence of sensitive information about individuals other than the donor or creator may limit access to their own files
• Make clear who will screen email messages for sensitive information and what the process will be. *Refer to Section VIII. Working with Email for further instruction*
• Ask the donor to complete the Privacy checklist in the Donor Guide

• Ask the donor if there is other people’s intellectual property in the donor’s files
• Discuss any rights held by individuals other than the donor or creator that would limit Special Collections ability to provide access and delivery of the files to researchers
• Discuss the methods by which Special Collections will provide researchers with access to the digital files

• Identify which born-digital materials are to be offered to Special Collections.
• Ask the donor to document the ways in which digital media and files have been stored, accessed, and transported prior to their arrival or collection by Special Collections.
• Complete the table below with the donor. Indicate which file types are included in the donation:

The deed of gift acknowledges transfer of ownership to Special Collections.

• Review the Deed of Gift
  • Transfer of copyright
  • Permission to make preservation and access copies
  • Permission to display online
  • Disposition of duplicate or unneeded materials
  • Disposition of computer hardware, removable media and files not retained
• The donor and Special Collections staff representative sign the Deed of Gift
• Provide a copy of the signed deed to the donor

Storage Media Inventory

Donors may choose to transfer digital records via removable storage media. If so, before Special Collections staff copy the digital records from the physical media, it is important to collect as much information as possible about the storage media itself.

• Record the following information in a media inventory spreadsheet. Name this file [accession number]-media-inventory.xlsx. Save this spreadsheet in the accession file. 
  • Accession number - the accession number assigned to the collection 
  • Unique ID – a unique ID assigned to each piece of storage media (ex. accession#–sequential number, 2017-001-01; 2017-001-002) 
  • Label information – a transcription of any pre-existing labels on the media
  • Date(s) -  The creation date or date range of the files stored on the media
  • Storage media type - The type of media
  • Storage capacity – maximum storage capacity of the media, expressed in gigabytes
  • Physical dimensions – dimensions of the media expressed height x width 
  • Manufacturer – manufacturer of the media 
  • Model/Series - if known, the model and series of the media 
  • External parts – list of any other parts that came with the media (cables, chargers, etc.)

Instructions for creating a file manifest with DROID

1. Open the DROID application, a new profile will be created automatically
2. Select Add and browse to the digital records in the accession folder
3. Select Start, this will scan the directory and run the file identification process
4. Expand the directory to view file details (folder names, file names, extension, size, last modified date, format, PUID, Hash value)
5. Select Export, a new window will open. Choose the profile, select Export profiles...
6. Under Encoding select .csv, name this file [accessionnumber]-file-manifest.csv, save in the accession folder

Sometimes files are missing extensions or the extension is mismatched. When this occurs, DROID will issue a file extension warning mismatch.

1. Use the LocateOpener application to identify and append missing file extensions

• Right click on files missing extensions or on files with unfamiliar extensions
• Select LocateOpener from the menu
• If the file has an unknown extension, select “Scan with TrID”
• A new window will recommend an appropriate file extension
• Select “Append extension”
• Rescan the accession to create an updated file inventory with amended file extensions

1. Using the inventory, identify archive formats (gzip, bzip, wbzip2, zip, jar, tar) and unzip them prior to ingest into Preservica
2. If unzipping a package with a mbox file(s), delete the unzipped folders after copying the mbox file(s) to the appropriate location in the accession folder
3. Remove empty directories
4. Remove .DS_Store and .Thumbs file
5. If file extensions required amendment and/or archives formats were unzipped, create an updated file inventory by following the Inventory instructions above. Replace the file-inventory.csv file with the updated version

As with paper records, donors may unknowingly transfer collections that contain duplicate files. Duplicate files are identified by comparing each file’s checksum. Files with the same content have the same hash value.

1. In Excel, open the file inventory .csv file
2. Highlight the HASH column
3. Select the Home section > Conditional Formatting > Highlight Cells Rules > Duplicate Values
4. Choose a highlight color
5. Excel will highlight all duplicate values
6. Return to the working copy files in the accession folder
7. Locate the duplicate files and move the files to a new Duplicates folder in the accession file
8. Retain this folder until Preservica ingest is complete

As with traditional paper collections, digital records may contain sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state “right to privacy” laws, including but not limited to certain education, medical, financial, criminal, attorney-client, and personnel records. Special Collections staff takes care to identify and, in some cases, removed personally identifiable information (PII) found within all archival collections.

Special Collections uses a tool called Identity Finder to search for and identify PII in digital collections.

• Run the Identify Finder Enterprise software on the working copy files
• Conduct this step even if donors say there is no PII in their files
• Open Identity Finder Enterprise software and log in
• Under “Start” select “Start Search Wizard”
• Under “Anyfind Searching” select the personally identifiable information (PII) you want to search for. The default types are: Social Security Numbers, Credit Card Numbers, Password Entries, Bank Account Numbers, Drivers Licenses, Passport Numbers, and Health Information

• Select “Next”
• Select the Locations (usually “Files and Compressed Files” and "E-Mails and Attachments")
• Under “File Locations” browse to the custom location. This is the accession folder or specific folder(s) in the accession folder you want to search

• Review and confirm the selection, select “Finish”

• Select “Save As” to generate a report. This report contains the file path (location), date modified, size, PII category, and match, number of hits and classification information of the files that contain PII
• Add two additional columns to the end of the report: Action and Ingest
• Record any action taken on these files in these fields
• Save this report as an Excel file in the accession folder
• Return to Identity Finder and review the files that contain PII
• In consultation with the processing archivist, determine whether or not these files need action
• Under the Action menu, select “Scrub” or “Shred”*

Scrubbing (Redacting) – When a file contains sensitive information and you wish to keep the file but remove the sensitive information only, you should utilize the scrub feature.

Shred – When a file contains sensitive information and you wish to remove the file from the accession, you should utilize the shred feature. Using the shred feature will delete the entire file.

• Update the Excel report file with all actions taken, including if files were skipped because the information was determined to not be PII. Also note if the file was re-ingested into Preservica**

*Identity Finder only allows actions on certain file types and versions. For a complete list, click here. It may be necessary to migrate files to newer versions or different formats before taking action. Always work on a working copy file, never on the original.

**If PII is identified after ingest into Preservica, download the file(s), follow steps 1-11 above, then re-ingest the files using the SIP Creator, and finally, delete the original un-redacted files in Preservica.

Special Collections staff have two tools to choose from when uploading accessions to Preservica. The first, the Preparation and Upload Tool (PUT), prepares accessions and generates the required XML needed for a Preservica ingest.

The second tool is the Upload Wizard. Record producers (donors) submit content to Preservica using this standalone Java desktop application. Special Collections staff use this tool when performing an in-person transfer of a donor’s records from the donor’s on-campus workstation. The Upload Wizard can also be used when ingesting unpacked packages into Preservica (i.e. zip, iso, mbox, cmp, or pst).

• Choose the appropriate Preservica upload tool
• If a remote transfer by donor is planned, provide the donor with Upload Wizard instructions and corresponding metadata

Note: Prior to starting these steps the processor should have a created a working copy of the files/folders, inventories of the files, and file-level and folder-level metadata xml files. 

Collect and record the following information about the folder(s)/file(s) you are preparing for upload:

• Size (in GB)
• Number of files
• Folder title(s)
• Files date(s): creation AND modified
• ​File type(s)

Note: much of this information is located in the file manifests and metadata files generated during earlier steps in processing.

Preservica offers multiple migration workflows that allow users to select at-risk formats and their target preservation and presentation formats. Using transformation pathways, Preservica migrates files from the original format to resulting format (preservation or presentation). Preservica retains the original file to support future preservation needs.

The following instructions are intended to guide Special Collections staff through preservation workflows in Preservica. These steps will identify at-risk file formats, select appropriate target preservation formats, choose correct migration pathways, and perform file migration.

Identifying At-Risk File Types

The first step in preserving digital records is to identify at-risk file types. File formats and PUIDs were identified during the preservation assessment prior to ingest. Use the information from the file inventory report and the Sustainable Formats table to identify at-risk files and appropriate preservation formats. Additionally, PUIDs can also be identified in Preservica by right clicking on the file, selecting Properties > Technical > PUID

File Normalization

Preservica offers multiple migration workflows.

• Right click on the target folder or asset

• Select Actions>Create new Representation

• Choose "Select Representation Type"

• Choose the Representation Type to Create" and select "Continue"

• Choose "Select Business Rules"

• Choose the appropriate migration pathway for target assets and select "Continue"

Review the file formats identified by DROID and make note of at-risk file types. Identify the target preservation formats, access formats, and pathways if running normalization workflows on ingest into Preservica. Use the Sustainable Formats table seen below and the Preservica Format Registry. Record this information in the file extensions report.

Sustainable Formats

*Preservica does not currently support PDF to PDF/A migration
**Review PDF/A files transformed from htm to ensure readability and that there is no loss of content

At-Risk File Types

The first step in presenting digital records is to identify at-risk file types. File formats and PUIDs were identified during the preservation assessment prior to ingest. Use the information from the file inventory report and the Sustainable Formats table to identify at-risk files and appropriate presentation formats. Additionally, PUIDs can also be identified in Preservica by right clicking on the file, selecting Properties > Technical > PUID

Presentation Post-Ingest

​Preservica offers multiple migration workflows. 

1. Using the preservation assessment done during the accession process, select the target folder and review for at-risk file types
2. Record the PUID of at-risk file types in the target folder. The PUID can be identified by looking in Properties > Technical > PUID
3. To activate these workflows select the folder or asset, right-click and choose "Create new representation"
4. Select "Select Representation Type"
5. Choose the representation type and select "Continue"
6. Choose "Select Business Rules"
7. Choose the appropriate migration pathway from the menu
8. Select "Continue"

Once the transformation is complete, review the files in Explorer

Refer to Preservica's ArchivesSpace Integration - Getting Started Guide, v5.9, section 4 

Refer to the Processing and Description: Digital Objects LibGuide maintained by UB's Special Collections.