JHOVE is one of the most widely used tools in digital preservation, but organisations who use it will be familiar with the various difficulties that follow. 

In particular, those who use JHOVE for file format validation will be familiar with the number of error messages it reports. Currently, JHOVE supports different types of messages, ranging from error messages for validation failures which can indicate a problem with the file, to info messages covering everything else in the reports, e.g. too many PDF fonts for reporting. But even validation errors come in many shapes and forms, especially for complex file formats like PDF. 

Members of the Open Preservation Foundation have expressed interest in collaborating on this since it was first raised by Micky Lindlar, and it was discussed at our December ‘22 OPF Advisory Group that members wanted a space to connect on these issues better. 

This Special Interest Group (SIG) aims to improve documentation, and understandability, enable the community to handle errors better, develop a searchable registry, improve the tool by identifying bugs, and generally help people get started easier. Please note that no development expertise is required to join this working group, as our efforts are targeted towards users and not developers.

Initially, the main discussion points of this group will be Errors and Warnings, Documentation, and User-Friendliness. We hope that this group will help you feel more at ease with handling JHOVE’s errors and warnings. 

As digital preservation is not a problem that can be solved alone, this working group identifies potential collaboration opportunities around the tool. 

The group brings together members of the OPF and interested parties within the community who are interested in evolving this tool and discussing their issues with peers. We usually have several online meetings throughout the year, and you are welcome to join us. 

Co-Chairs of this group are Micky Lindlar (TIB – Leibniz Information Centre for Science and Technology), and Lotte Wijsman (National Archives of the Netherlands).