NDSA:PDF Exploration
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Title of Activity or Project
NDSA PDF/A-3 Scoping Project
One Sentence Description:
NDSA PDF/A-3 Scoping Project working group members will research the pros and cons of using the PDF/A-3 standard as an all-purpose wrapper for various digital asset/media types including: textual, audio, video, photo, and GIS data.
Statement of the Problem and Goals for Addressing the Problem:
It is unclear whether PDF/A-3, which was designed to accommodate supplementary media files for text documents, is appropriate as a de facto normalization wrapper format for all media types. The goal is to develop guidelines for the appropriate use of PDF/A-3 with respect to different media types that includes both detailed technical information and a practical quick reference guide for end-users.
Strategic Value of Activity:
- Improve understanding of best practices for using PDF/A-3 in digital preservation activities
- Enhance consistency and improve long-term viability of digitally preserved content
- Provide guidance to those considering PDF/A-3 as a long-term archiving format
Required Resources:
- Time of working group members
- Publishing venue(s)
- Communication channels
Roadmap:
- Hold regular working group conference calls (monthly, between NDSA Standards WG calls)
- Draft document and review
- Invite broader NDSA member feedback
- Publish document (digitalpreservation.gov, others?)
Dissemination of Knowledge:
- Publish report on digitalpreservation.gov
- Write a blog post
- Announce on NDSA member organization communication channels
- Present at conferences that members (and non-members?) are attending
Signifiers of Success and Outcomes:
- Completed guidelines document published on digitalpreservation.gov
- Guidelines document referenced on related Wikipedia pages
- Guidelines in use or recommended by NDSA participating organizations or others
- Others?
Questions to Ask and Answer
- Talk about background (what is pdf/a-3 and how is it different from earlier versions of PDF/A)
- Iterate categories of materials or use cases where it makes sense to use A-3 and other categories where it doesn't make sense. Example: if you're sending a video file don't put it in a PDF! If you had a certain kind of a journal article that had a static version of the spreadsheet in the doc but a malleable version embedded perhaps that argues for it.
- Risks to the format (scenarios in why this might be bad and why)
- Possibilities of the format (scenarious in why this might be good and why)
Background Materials
Library of Congress Sustainability of Digital Formats PDF/A-3 site