Intro to Software and Content Resources:
During this module, participants will learn:
- What is the difference between Software and Content resources?
- How (and why) does the EaaSI platform treat them differently?
Questions for Discussion/Reflection
- Pick a file in your Downloads folder right now – any file. Would you consider it Software, or Content? Why?
- EaaSI workflows often involve adding Software to supplement the operating system in an existing Environment. But operating systems are already just a giant bundle of Software and can render plenty of Content on their own. What Software resources came provided with your operating system?
- Do you work for an institution with established digital preservation policies or strategies? How would sorting data your organization’s holdings into Software or Content resources fit with those policies?
About EaaSI
The EaaSI program builds on previous work to apply the Emulation-as-a-Service (EaaS) framework for access and use of preserved software and digital objects. The project is focused on scaling the technological framework necessary for multiple institutions to configure, share, and access software and configured environments. EaaSI is focused on a distributed, community-driven architecture that sits on top of existing digital preservation infrastructure. This directly complements existing efforts by the Software Preservation Network and others to address key aspects of software preservation including legal advocacy, research about local software preservation needs, institutional capacity building for software preservation, collection development, professional development and training, and workflow recommendations.
About the EaaSI Training Module Series
Phase 2 of the EaaSI program of work (July 2020 – June 2022) will include a series of Training Modules, with one new Module to be released approximately every three months (a total of eight by the conclusion of Phase 2). These Training Modules are intended to supplement and expand on concepts alluded to in the EaaSI User Handbook, opening the design and functionality of the platform to wider feedback, comment, and discussion. Though particular features and elements of interface design may change between releases of the EaaSI platform, these Modules should remain consistent in elaborating on our infrastructure.
Each Module contains: a slideshow presenting a core piece of Emulation-as-a-Service functionality and its relationship to EaaSI goals and use cases; a set of questions for practitioners to discuss and/or reflect; and recommended resources from the EaaSI team for further exploration of the topic. Modules are intended to stand on their own but be easily adaptable to an in-person or virtual workshop session.
Supplementary materials:
- “Software, It’s a Thing”, Speech given by Matthew Kirschenbaum to the Library of Congress’ Digital Preservation 2014 conference, July 22, 2014. Posted on Medium July 24, 2014.
- “We didn’t see this coming: Our unexpected roles as software archivists and what we learned at Preserving.exe”, Alice Allen and Peter Teuben. Contained in “Preserving.exe: Toward a National Strategy for Software Preservation”, report by the National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation program, 2013.
- DPC Digital Preservation Handbook: Institutional Policies and Strategies
- Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Software Preservation