Discussion papers

*Fading away: The problem of digital sustainability*
Publication details	ANU Reporter
Date	Winter 2007
Authors	Danny Kingsley
Description	The challenges of keeping our memories alive in a digital age.

*Sustaining Sustainability - The Australian Partnership for Sustainable Repositories Project*
Publication details	Online Currents (available via subscription only)
Date	Volume 21, 2007, pp359-366.
Author	Belinda Weaver
*Ten Major Issues in Providing a Repository Service in Australian Universities*
Publication details	D-Lib Magazine, Volume 13 Number 5/6
Date	May/June 2007
Author	Margaret Henty
Description	This article presents an overview of the major issues identified by senior academic administrators and repository managers during interviews held in mid-2006 as part of the AIRS Project. It also looks at the history of repository development in Australian universities and the need for these to be seen as part of the overall university data management strategy at a time when the nature of research is changing in that it increasingly involves the use, generation, manipulation, sharing and analysis of digital resources. Issues identified included responsibility, funding, providing an appropriate policy framework at both national and local levels, community engagement, staff, technology and the regulatory environment. The aims of the AIRS Project were to increase APSR's understanding of the requirements of institutional repositories, to assess their collective aspirations and to define the place of institutional repositories in the research information infrastructure.
Supplementary information	More comments from those interviewed can be found in Ten Major Issues in Providing a Repository Service in Australian Universities: extended interview comments by Margaret Henty, May 2007. Available in pdf (85.34kb).
Project	Australian Institutional Repositories Survey (AIRS)

*Avoiding a digital Dark Age*
Publication details	R&D Review April 2007. Available online from ScienceAlert Australia and New Zealand
Date	April 2007
Authors	Adrian Burton
Description	An opinion piece by Adrian Burton which argues that we need to take ownership of the digital future so we don’t fall back into a digital dark age

*Sustainability Issues for Australian Research Data: The report of the Australian eResearch Sustainability Survey Project*
Format	pdf (396kb)
Date	October 2006
Authors	Markus Buchhorn and Paul McNamara, The Australian National University
Description	This report provides the results of a survey of sustainability issues for data-intensive research projects, including the capabilities and demands of research groups and institutions for the storage, access and long-term management of research data.
Project	AERES - Australian eResearch Sustainability Survey Project

Preservation of Word-Processing Documents
Format	pdf (142kb) and in htm
Date	July 2006
Author	Ian Barnes, The Australian National University
Description	This report oulines issues associated with the preservation of word processing documents and suggests ways in which they can be sustained.
Project	Sustainability of word processing documents

Survey of Data Collections: a research project undertaken for the Australian Partnership for Sustainable Repositories
Format	pdf (451KB) or html
Date	December 2005
Author	Kevin Bradley, National Library of Australia, and Margaret Henty, The Australian National University
Description	This survey was undertaken in mid-2005 and looks at the requirements for managing data sets held at the Australian National University, the University of Sydney and the University of Queensland and the risks associated with them.
Project	Preservation Metadata and Testbed Risk Analysis Survey

*APSR Sustainability Issues Discussion Paper*
Format	pdf (517kb)
Date	June 2005
Authors	Kevin Bradley, National Library of Australia
Description	This paper was originally intended as a basis of discussion for APSR planning. It was structured around a range of identified issues and includes a summary of the topic and reference to key resources, and has become a valued summary of issues and proposed solutions.