Preservation of audiovisual files: evaluationof the aplicability of Archivematica

Abstract

The use of repositories to preserve digital documents is based on the recommendations of the Open Archival Information System (OAIS) reference model and is consolidated as a fundamental part of technological solutions for maintaining the authenticity of digital archival documents. The theoretical understanding of what these preservation repositories propose to accomplish comes from the practical learning of using and interpreting the actions generated by these increasingly indispensable software. The preservation of audiovisual documents and their specificities, especially the variety of physical formats, digital formats of containers and codecs, as well as its high volume of data makes this documentary genre merit a differentiated attention in its archival preservation treatment. The work proposed here used the Archivematica repository in version 1.9.1 as a preservation tool to be tested, in the context of its practical use for processing audiovisual documents that make up the collection of VideoSaúde – Distribuidora (VSD) of Fiocruz. Digital preservation literature and software documentation were consulted to support the development of the tests. The results obtained were described and evaluated for their ability to create submission information packages (SIP), generation of archival information packages (AIP) and interpretation of AIP METS metadata. In this sense, it was concluded that the structure of the SIP designed for testing in the software met the processing parameters for generating complete and robust AIP. However, it is highlighted that tests with other formats and addressing other specificities of video should be researched and/or carried out to complement the analysis on the use of the tool in view of the digital preservation of audiovisual documents.