Archiving Digital Projects

Digital projects are computer mediated works -- they require a computational device and the execution of some sort of computer code in order to be created and read. This code is an integral part of the construction of the argument of the digital project.

Archiving the software makes it possible for future researchers to examine the code in conjunction with their results and the digital presentation. It also lays the groundwork for future emulations of the software.

Not all software can or needs to be archived in the same ways. For all software elements, the contents should be compressed into a zip file for upload and should contain a README file with installation instructions.

Proprietary or 3rd-Party Software

If you are using proprietary software or a third party system to publish your site, you may be unable to capture and share the underlying software. In such cases:

• Document the version and distributor of the software, proving a URL if possible.

• If you have created any customized elements, such as themes or plugins, which would not be available from the software distributor, archive and submit the final version of those customized elements. Include installation instructions in a README file in the zipped folder with the customized elements.

​Open Source Software

If you are using widely distributed open-source software systems, such as WordPress or Omeka, you can use your discretion regarding whether to capture the final version of the software, depending on whether you think future visitors will be able to access older version of the software from the distributor. If you choose not to archive the software, be sure to document:

• The version and distributor of the software, providing a URL if possible.

• The version and distributor of any themes or plugins used for the site, providing URLs where possible.

If you have modified the core of the system or have created any new themes or plugins, you will need to archive these elements as they are only available with your project. You can choose whether to save all of the elements in one zipped file, or save the core, themes, and plugins separately.

• Include any installation instructions and dependency information with the archived elements of the software in a README file.

Custom Software

Custom software will only exist in the context of your project and is the most important to archive. Use a README file to provide installation instructions and to list any software dependencies (and their versions) that are needed for the project to run.

• All the software components and the README should be compressed into a zipped folder for upload.

Copyright and Licenses: What one can do in terms of archiving the software will depend in large part on the license under which the software is released. Be sure to respect the licenses and if archiving the software is very important to you, choose open source and open licensed software for your projects.

Stability and community support for the software elements: The goal in archiving the software layer is to make it possible for future visitors to examine the code used and recreate the project. Stable platforms with wide community support often provide access to past versions of their software -- i.e., Omeka’s list of previous versions (http://omeka.org/codex/Version_History). Capturing every package or piece of software used in a project will often become overwhelming quickly, so if it is a supported and widely used library of platform, providing a list of all of the components and their versions will be sufficient.