Format Encounters Role-Playing Game (RPG)

Activity Overview

This role-playing game (RPG) is designed to create a custom scenario that mimics some of the materials that archivists encounter and handle in their day-to-day work. This activity will focus specifically on approaches/tasks taken during the appraisal and accessioning phases, prior to the digital materials themselves getting ingested into a digital preservation system.

Game Setup

The game consists of three rolls to define a unique digital archiving appraisal/accessioning scenario:

  1. Media Type Roll
  2. File Format Roll
  3. Additional Characteristic Roll

Roll numbers and their results can be found in the Airtable form.

Steps

  1. Build your scenario Open a virtual dice rolling program (Google has one that automatically appears if you search for “virtual dice”; but feel free to use whatever program you wish, just make sure whatever you are using has or emulates a 6-sided die)

  2. Submit your scenario Open the Airtable form. In the form:
    • Fill out your name
    • Roll your virtual dice three times to determine your media type, file format and surprise characteristic. For each dice roll, select your result in the Airtable form.
    • Click the Submit button to enter your form. Please only submit one form entry. Your submissions will appear in a collaborative Airtable gallery.

  3. Research appraisal and accessioning solutions for your scenario: Imagine you are a digital archivist who has received the media type and file format with these particular characteristics. Your task is to find at least one online resource that describes how a particular institution might handle your particular media type, file format(s), and surprise characteristic (this might mean you have to find three separate resources, if you can’t find one particular resource that addresses your particular scenario) in terms of appraisal or accessioning tasks. For a definition of these terms, please refer to the week’s slides. An online resource can include a manual, a guide, a repository, a website, a slide deck, a YouTube tutorial, a white paper, a journal article, or really, anything! I’ve included some resources in my own example contribution to the Airtable gallery.

  4. Document your findings in Airtable Once you find a resource or two, update your gallery card in the Airtable gallery.

  5. Submit your activity summary to Brightspace Since the majority of your activity work will be in Airtable, please just submit the URL to your Airtable gallery card (to get the URL, simply click on the card and copy/paste the URL) to the Assignments section of Brightspace.

  6. Prepare to share for our next class Be ready to deliver a brief 3-5 minute overview of your data object, using your Airtable card as your “slide”. In your overview, address the following:
    • Scenario: What scenario did your roll?
    • Resources: What resources did you uncover to address your particular scenario?