Interagency Data Stewardship/LifeCycle/Preservation Forum
Thursday Jan 8, 1:30-5:30pm (at the end of the ESIP Federation Meeting)
Embassy Suites - Washington Convention Center, 900 10th St NW, Washington, DC
Objectives:
- Identify common needs across agencies
- Support higher priority / more funding for long-term preservation of Earth system science data
Possible outcomes:
- White paper
- Congressional budget request
- Chapman/Gordon Conference plan
- Formation of advisory body
Salient issues:
- Data access, data understanding, and provenance must be preserved
- Permanent unique object identifiers (usable as references in journal articles)
- Common naming conventions
- Sustainability should be designed into data systems from the start
Schedule:
- 1:30-3pm: Initial statements from agency (and ESIP) representatives
- 3:30-5:30pm: Open discussion
Participants:
- NASA, NOAA, EPA, USGS, NSF, ESIP
Remote Participation
For those unable to attend in person...
Dial: (800) 508-7631
Passcode: *8707140*
Documents
Media:DOE_&_Data_ESIP_2009-01-08.ppt
Meeting Notes
A USGRP report on a data archiving workshop co-chaired by Martha Maiden and Tom Karl in 1998 could be a useful reference and source of stories highlighting the benefits of archiving and the consequences of not archiving Media:USGCRP_Long-Term_Archiving.pdf. The report has received little attention. We should take a new look at it. Data policies for preservation already exist in most or all agencies, but are not always adhered to.
How can we communicate the challenges associated with preservation? Preservation tends to get attention only when a disaster/catastrophe occurs and data are not available. More scenarios are needed of recovery (or lack of recovery) to convey needs. Policy makers need to be informed of needs. Digital library community has been involved with preservation. Agencies (and ESIP) should establish stronger linkages to DL community.
Al Gore's slide show is a good example of a game changer for conveying the seriousness of environmental issues. Could ESIP send a letter to Gore asking him to lobby for us (or come to ESIP meeting)? Professional organizations such as AGU have lobbyists and public outreach mechanisms. The change.gov web site is a forum for suggesting policy changes. An AGU session each year in ESSI and/or Union would help give visibility. An AGU Town Hall would provide a forum.
ESIP will form Partnership and Sustainability Cluster. Its web site will provide preservation strategies/policies/activities within each agency, standards (OAIS), and definitions (e.g., "provenance", "levels of service"). Ruth Duerr was nominated to be Chair of this Cluster. Mark Parsons may help. The ESIP Summer meeting will have a track or meeting theme on Data Preservation and Stewardship.
