Preservation Simplified

Digital Preservation

Digital preservation is a planned effort to preserve digital content, whether it is born-digital or reformatted.  It takes into account the facts that

• Means of accessing digital content may eventually be rendered obsolete;
• Digital files may deteriorate;
• Media on which digital content is stored may also deteriorate.

Digital preservation is not flash drives or other storage media, and it is not a “dark archive.” Rather, digital preservation is management of digital assets via standards, best practices, and established workflows.  It is an effort taken on by one person at a time.  None of us knows what the future will bring, and so it is not for us to create a plan that will preserve our content forever.  Instead, we are responsible for preserving content now and then passing that responsibility to the next person.

Below are links to glossaries and definitions that may be of use for those engaged in digital preservation planning.  The pages you’ll find under the Preservation Simplified tab are also designed be of help as you move forward with your own digital preservation plan.  Please feel let us know what works for you, what doesn’t, and what you’d like to see here.

Glossaries:

• OAIS Terminology Glossary
• The National Digital Stewardship Alliance
• The University of Michigan Library
• California’s Digital Library