Starting a converstion about digital preservation with Senior Executives can be difficult without first establishing a definition which can be relayed in language understandable to your audience.
These definitions aim to do that. They are grouped by organization type but presented in no particular order. Select and use the statements which are most relevant to your organization. You may find that some statements categorised under a different organization type may still be relevant to you. You may wish to rank them according to your organization’s priorities or add more detail based on your context.
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Organization Type |
Digital Preservation is... |
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Planning and developing strategy and policy to sustain access to digital materials for as long as is required, |
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Liaison with data creators, data users, solution providers, IT departments, records managers, marketing teams, policy makers and more, |
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A function which requires different areas of an organization and its stakeholders to work together with strong, enabling leadership, |
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Actively monitoring, planning, administering and managing digital materials, systems and workflows to ensure their longevity beyond the limits of technology obsolescence and degradation, |
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Assigning the appropriate level of preservation activity for a given set of digital materials, |
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Capturing all necessary associated contextual documentation and metadata, |
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Ensuring the continued integrity and authenticity of digital materials, |
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Only keeping what is required through careful and informed appraisal and selection, |
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Using appropriate standards to make digital materials more robust and resilient, |
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Adding value to an organization’s digital materials over time, |
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Keeping up with changes in the shifting technological landscape, |
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Assisting access through the provision of supporting documentation and , where appropriate, for end users, |
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A set of activities within any organization – as essential as the power grid or plumbing, |
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A cross-organizational business culture - digital preservation should be ‘business as usual’, |
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Providing appropriate access, which adheres to contextual security and sensitivity requirements, |
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Part of an ongoing stewardship mission to ensure to the future of libraries and archives as memory organizations, |
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Necessary for libraries and archives to tell the unbroken story of our communities and societies. |
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Managing the confidentiality, integrity and availability of the organization’s records to ensure efficient and accurate access, |
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Applying retention periods correctly, avoiding unnecessary risks. |
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Planning and strategizing to sustain access to digital research data for as long as is required, |
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Preserving continuity as well as functionality for future research, |
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Ensuring data remains accessible and usable, |
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Providing staff and users with sufficient digital preservation skills to fulfil their part of the data management process. |
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Having the information required to install or perform an artwork according to an artist’s concept and specifications, technological context and historical accuracy. |
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Having the information required to curate and display a digital object or collection in a way that provides an accurate and meaningful depiction of the object(s) and our cultural heritage. |
Digital Preservation is not:
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Organization Type |
Digital preservation is more than... |
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Digitization, backing up, storage, public access and discovery, |
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Buying an off-the-shelf product and considering it ‘done,’ |
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A technical problem, it is also a cultural one, requiring leaders in this space to bring others on board to ensure solid preservation practice, |
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A fashionable trend, it’s a continuing change for all organizations. |