Digital File Transfer App and the National Accession Standard: ACA 2021 Pre-Conference Workshop

Digital File Transfer App and the National Accession Standard

As more of our archives become trusted digital repositories, archival functions must be executed in a digital environment. In this workshop, attendees will be presented with an open-source digital record transfer application the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR) has designed to ingest new accessions into the NCTR's digital holdings. It collects descriptive metadata from donors through a web form before allowing them to upload their records. The collected metadata is based on the 56 fields in the Canadian Archival Accession Information Standard (CAAIS), of which the donor is only required to fill a few vital fields; the rest are automatically generated. The records and metadata from the completed transfer are captured according to the BagIt protocol. The metadata is also stored in a database, which can be exported as a CSV or HTML file. The exported CSV can be used to import records into an archival database, and the HTML file presents the completed transfer in an easily readable format for review.

A digital transfer application has multiple benefits:

• Security: the donor is given an account to log into the transfer environment and submit the records and metadata via HTTPS.
• Function: the metadata is stored in a way that it can be exported in several formats. The transfer is sent to a secure server where the materials can be inspected and appraised for archival value, and a donation grant drafted.
• Environment: There is no material cost to purchasing and shipping an external hard drive. 
  

1. Brief overview of the CAAIS.
2. Discussion of the archival need for a digital transfer app.
3. Development and design of the App. Discussion of open source programming, GitHub, and the use of Python as a programming language.
4. Examples of archival materials transferred with the app.
5. Examining the digital potential for recognizing the principles of the UNDRIP. 

Learning Objectives

1. Applying the Canadian Archival Accession Information Standard in a digital environment.
2. Developing open source applications to build the digital infrastructure of an archives.
3. Creating relationships with donors in a digital environment.
4. Discussion of python and other tools for developing open source utilities.