3/20/2023 0 Comments Pdfscanner automator![]() That may seem boring now, but it won’t when the tool you’re using becomes obsolete! Tools to Consider You should also be thinking about whether and how you can export your data. Metadata will help you find the right stuff, but you may also want to think about tools for OCR (optical character recognition) and for “fuzzy” searching. None of this does you any good if you can’t get your hands on the data you need when you need it. That’s why it’s important to think about how you’re capturing information about each asset you gather, like its source and its importance to your research. Few things are more frustrating than locating just the information you need but not being able to determine its origin. Do you do most of your research online, in an archive, or at the library? You’ll need a tool (or tools) that’s appropriate for the way you really work and easily captures the data you need in a format that’s preservable - and preferably in a way that’s organized. The practice that makes sense for you will depend on your own research habits and the kinds of material you work with. Every few years, check your copies to see if you need to export them to a newer format. It’s a good idea to have copies in a number of locations. Organize your assets: Give them descriptive filenames, organize them into a logical file structure, and write down your organizational scheme.Decide which of your assets you want to keep and which you don’t need.Identify: Make an audit of what you have.In general, the Library of Congress recommends that you: The Library of Congress offers guidelines for preserving digital material, including photographs, audio, video, email, digital records, and websites. For a more technical and specific discussion of digital formats, see the Library of Congress’s “ Sustainability of Digital Formats.” (And in case you’re curious, here’s my own research workflow.) Preserving your digital assets Or jump to links to other resources about research workflows. You can also download a PDF version of my handout, or a Word version if you’d like to modify it. Below is a digital version of the workshop handout, followed by a link dump of my favorite posts about developing and refining digital research workflows. I teach a workshop on this topic, catchily titled Managing Research Assets (better names welcome). Digital files are often easier to deal with than stacks of paper, but they can also proliferate frighteningly quickly. There’s research, there’s writing, and then there’s that netherworld in between: wrangling all the digital files you gather over the course of your work.
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