CA Archivist Digital Archives & Information Systems 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: An archivist is implementing a digital asset management system (DAMS). Which metadata element is most critical for ensuring long-term discoverability across systems?
- File size in bytes
- Persistent unique identifier (Correct answer)
- Date of last system backup
- Name of the digitizing technician
Correct answer: Persistent unique identifier
Persistent unique identifiers (such as ARKs, DOIs, or Handles) ensure that digital objects remain discoverable and citable even as systems and URLs change over time.
Question 2: Which approach to digital preservation creates a software environment that mimics obsolete hardware or operating systems to run legacy applications?
- Migration
- Emulation (Correct answer)
- Normalization
- Replication
Correct answer: Emulation
Emulation recreates the original computing environment using software, allowing legacy files to be rendered authentically without format migration.
Question 3: In linked data for archival description, which vocabulary is primarily used to express archival concepts such as provenance and agents?
- SKOS
- Records in Contexts (RiC) (Correct answer)
- Dublin Core
- MARC
Correct answer: Records in Contexts (RiC)
Records in Contexts (RiC) is the ICA's linked data-compatible standard designed to express archival concepts including provenance, agents, functions, and relationships as linked open data.
Question 4: What is the key distinction between a dark archive and a light archive in digital preservation?
- A dark archive uses tape storage while a light archive uses disk storage
- A dark archive stores content offline without public access while a light archive provides user access (Correct answer)
- A dark archive preserves only born-digital content while a light archive holds digitized materials
- A dark archive is encrypted while a light archive is openly accessible without authentication
Correct answer: A dark archive stores content offline without public access while a light archive provides user access
A dark archive maintains preserved content in storage without providing direct public access, functioning as a secure backup, while a light archive provides users access to its holdings.
Question 5: Which file format is generally preferred for long-term preservation of raster images due to its lossless compression and wide adoption?
- JPEG
- PNG
- TIFF (Correct answer)
- WebP
Correct answer: TIFF
TIFF (Tagged Image File Format) is widely preferred for archival preservation of raster images because it supports lossless compression and is a well-documented, widely supported format.
Question 6: An archivist implements a 3-2-1 backup strategy. What does this strategy specify?
- 3 copies of data, on 2 different media types, with 1 copy offsite (Correct answer)
- 3 backup servers, 2 geographically dispersed data centers, 1 cloud provider
- 3 daily backups, 2 weekly backups, 1 annual archive
- 3 redundant drives, 2 parity checks, 1 integrity audit per year
Correct answer: 3 copies of data, on 2 different media types, with 1 copy offsite
The 3-2-1 backup strategy calls for maintaining 3 copies of data, stored on 2 different media types, with at least 1 copy stored offsite to protect against local disasters.
Question 7: Which PREMIS entity represents the people, organizations, or software agents responsible for actions taken on digital objects?
- Object
- Event
- Rights Statement
- Agent (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Agent
In the PREMIS data model, the Agent entity represents any actor — person, organization, or software — that is associated with preservation events affecting digital objects.
CA Archivist Digital Archives & Information Systems 3
An archivist is implementing a digital asset management system (DAMS).
Which metadata element is most critical for ensuring long-term discoverability across systems?