DNG Archive

Today I am taking the first step towards tidying up the New York Botanical Garden Herbarium image archive.

I have made the leap. I will no longer be producing TIFF Production Master files. I will only be archiving DNG Archive Master files.

Now the real work begins, sorting through all the TIFF files and moving them offline.

Digitization Special Interests Group Meeting - METRO.org

Digitization Special Interests Group

Last week I attended Metro's Digitization Special Interests Group meeting. The discussion panel included  John Mignault from The New York Botanical Garden, Andrea Buchner from the Gruss Lipper Digital Laboratory at the Center for Jewish History, and Jennifer Vinopal from New York University.

It was a very informative meeting and there are some take away thoughts posted on Metro's tech blog.

Jennifer Vinopal mentioned that at NYU they make a distinction between archive and preservation and I find the distinction to be helpful. The archive guarantees bits. You put bits in, you get the same bits out in the same bit order. There is no guarantee of the viability of the file format. Preservation, she said, is an institutional commitment that requires human vigilance. 

I like that. It makes me feel brave.

Archiving RAW Files

I am beginning to wonder about digital archiving practices, specifically when it comes to RAW file formats.

Currently, The New York Botanical Garden Herbarium archives RAW files (Canon's CR2) and a Production Master File (TIFF). Jpegs are derived from the Production Master file for access in the Virtual Herbarium.

I am not certain what role the TIFFs play and why we should be archiving them. They consume a lot of server space, and therefore cost a lot of money to store. Isn't the RAW format sufficient for the purpose of archiving?

The traditional belief I hear a lot is that since RAW formats are proprietary to the camera manufacturer they are subject to the whims of the market place and may not be supported in the future. Aren't all archives subject to technological change? There is currently a collection of 3000 35mm slides in a closet upstairs. A slide archive is not very much good without a slide viewer and hardly convenient or easily accessed by the public.

It is commonly believed that TIFF is a more broadly supported format and that the decoding of TIFFs is well documented. Of course, DNG, Adobe's RAW format could solve this problem. It is well documented and the instructions for decoding the files are readily available.

I guess, just like the slide collection, should the day come that RAW formats are no longer supported the images will have to be migrated to the next format.