This article was written for our sponsor, UNC School of Information and Library Science.

“Imagine that you’re a zookeeper.”

This creative scenario is something that Helen Tibbo finds very useful when introducing people to digital curation. Tibbo, a professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, is an internationally known scholar who studies archival workflows, records management and digital preservation.

“You have state-of-the-art facilities and plenty of space,” Tibbo continued. “Even with those advantages, you can’t just put the animals in their habitats and walk away. The infrastructure of the zoo is not enough to keep them healthy or alive – they need regular care and feeding, veterinary check-ups, adjustments for their stages in life. And every animal has different needs. You can’t treat the lion the same way you treat the elephant or the orangutan.”

Data and digital assets require the same consistent care and expert attention, Tibbo said, or those assets can quickly become unusable and worthless.

Tibbo is the director of the master’s program in digital curation and management at UNC-Chapel Hill and is dedicated to helping business and industry leaders embrace this vital component for success in the digital age.

While “big data” has become a perennial buzzword, and practically all large businesses and organizations rely on electronic records, the concepts of digital curation and data lifecycle management are just starting to get attention outside the world of libraries, archives and museums.

“This goes beyond the IT perspective, where you’re looking at capacity and storage,” Tibbo said. “This focuses on the content itself, how to ensure it’s accessible in the future when operating systems and software are constantly evolving, how to keep it secure and authentic, and what metadata can be added so the information can easily be retrieved by anyone who needs it.”

The Importance of Digital Maintenance & Management

The benign neglect of digital assets can wreak havoc on an organization’s operation and bottom line.

According to the IBM Big Data and Analytics Hub, poor quality data costs the United States economy an estimated $3.1 trillion per year. Additionally, about one in three business leaders say they do not trust the accuracy of the information they use to make decisions.

This is a big deal in a world that creates 2.5 quintillion bytes of data every day.

A New-Age Type of Pioneer

Tibbo has long been at the forefront of stemming the tide of the so-called digital deluge of the 21st Century. The Alumni Distinguished Professor at the UNC School of Information and Library Science, Tibbo has been the recipient of several million dollars in federal research funding for projects that have helped define digital curation best practices, particularly for government records and scientific research data.

Tibbo has also served as the president of the Society of American Archivists, the largest professional society in the field, and is an SAA Fellow, the highest honor bestowed on individuals by the organization.

In 2001, she was named a Digital Pioneer by the Library of Congress.

“Professor Tibbo has long been a pioneer in archival research and education,” said Elizabeth Yakel, professor and associate dean for Academic Affairs at the University of Michigan. “She has demonstrated exceptional skills in conducting rigorous research. She was an early innovator in successfully rethinking and redesigning curricula to focus on digital curation at both the master’s and the continuing education levels. Her service to the profession in many positions has been impactful.”

In recent years, Tibbo has been looking for ways to expand the understanding of digital archive principles and processes beyond the realm of libraries and museums. She led the creation of the Research Data Management and Sharing MOOC, which launched in 2016 to help scientists facing increasingly stringent policies for data retention and sharing from the federal government.

Another feat to add to Tibbo’s roster of accomplishments in the field? She developed the online master’s degree in digital curation and management at UNC-Chapel Hill to help working professionals gain the skills and experiences necessary to become leaders in this emerging field.

Students can pursue the degree on a part-time or full-time basis, and while the assignments and projects adhere to traditional semester deadlines, students can complete their work any time – day or night, anywhere in the world with an Internet connection.

And though students may never set foot on UNC-Chapel Hill’s campus, they will benefit from the University’s long-standing reputation as a leader in the areas of digital preservation, data curation, digital forensics and electronic records management.

“Every organization everywhere in the world needs to manage its digital content, and manage it in such a way that it remains reliable and reusable over time,” Tibbo said. “The feasibility study conducted in preparation for this degree program revealed a shortage of digitally literate professionals and increasing demand for such professionals from government agencies, research institutions, hospitals, law firms and private companies. We think this is going to help meet a huge need.”

This article was written for our sponsor, UNC School of Information and Library Science.