The digital material is what it purports to be. In the case of electronic records, it refers to the trustworthiness of the electronic record as a record.

What are the Risks of not preserving digital materials?

Organization Type Risk Potential Consequences

All organizations

Data safety and security are compromised.

  • Data loss/corruption
  • Disruption of business/organisation’s functions
  • Confidence loss
  • Damage to reputation
  • Loss/reduction in funding/revenue
  • Unable to meet legal/regulatory requirements

All organizations

Technologies used become obsolete; this may apply to elements such as hardware, software and file formats.

  • Unable to provide access to digital objects
  • Required to maintain expensive legacy systems
  • Disruption of business/organisation’s functions
  • Unable to provide audit trails
  • Unable to meet legal/regulatory requirements

All organizations

The bits and bytes making up the digital information degrade over time.

  • Data loss/corruption
  • Unable to meet legal/regulatory requirements

All organizations

Insufficient contextual information (metadata) to understand the information and for it to be useful.

  • Unable to provide access to digital objects
  • Disruption of business/organization’s functions
  • Unable to meet legal/regulatory requirements

Business

Existing storage systems do not protect records from unauthorised change or corruption

  • Data loss/corruption
  • Disruption of business/organisation’s functions
  • Confidence loss
  • Damage to reputation
  • Loss/reduction in funding/revenue
  • Unable to meet legal/regulatory requirements

Business

Staff fail to comply with organizational policy and processes in relation to management of records (reliability, authenticity, usability etc.),

  • Important digital objects not captured in preservation system
  • Necessary documentation/metadata not created/captured
  • Disruption of business/organisation’s functions
  • Unable to meet legal/regulatory requirements

Business

Loss of corporate memory

  • Unable to rely on past evidence to inform current decision-making
  • Insufficient resources to support branding and marketing

Higher Education and Research

Inability to access legal documentation, institutional history and decision-making precedents

  • Unable to rely on past evidence to inform current decision-making
  • Unable to meet legal/regulatory requirements

Higher Education and Research

Litigation from consumers if data made available is not reliable and trustworthy

  • Requirement to pay fines/settlements/compensation
  • Gaps in the cultural/scholarly record
  • Field of research is set back/compromised
  • Loss of reputation

Museums and Galleries

Preservation processes do not adequately consider rendering and display.

  • Unable to correctly render files as originally intended
  • Additional work required to address issues, including consultation with experts/the artist
  • Loss of reputation
  • Loss of funding

Museums and Galleries

Digital objects/collections are not captured in a suitable preservation system

  • Digital objects are unusable and un-displayable
  • Loss of context/documentation
  • Loss of reputation
  • Loss of funding

Museums and Galleries

Absence of appropriately skilled and invested people responsible for digital preservation

  • Incorrect/inadequate preservation
  • Preservation does not occur
  • Loss of ability to access/render digital objects
  • Loss of context/documentation
  • Loss of reputation
  • Loss of funding

Museums and Galleries

Absence of a documented workflow for the creation/acquisition and then maintenance of digital files

  • Incorrect/inadequate preservation
  • Preservation does not occur
  • Loss of ability to access/render digital objects
  • Loss of context/documentation
  • Loss of reputation
  • Loss of funding

What Opportunities do preserved digital materials create? 

Organization Type Digital Preservation can...

All organizations

demonstrate a commitment to transparency and accountability by sustaining an accurate digital record

Higher Education and Research

inspire the trust and understanding of future users, by providing a complete digital record

Libraries

instill trust in cultural and creative data by demonstrating a complete cultural record

Museums and Galleries

enable tracking of unauthorized changes, copies and access leading to greater trust and assurance

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