Guideline

Recommended Practices for Digital Preservation

The National Library of Australia has been researching issues and undertaking activities relating to digital preservation for a number of years. This page provides advice for those with a long term responsibility for management and preservation of digital materials. More specific guidance may be found through the National Library's PADI (Preserving Access to Digital Information) subject gateway: http://www.nla.gov.au/padi/

The need for digital preservation

Continued access to digital materials requires the maintenance of intact data streams and the means to read and interpret them. Digital storage media are vulnerable to damage or deterioration, and hardware and software become obsolete, so the time frame for making preservation decisions is short compared to paper-based materials. Action needs to be taken early and to be sustained for as long as the materials are needed.

To preserve digital materials the key needs are:

  • to protect the integrity of the data streams, and
  • to maintain a way of displaying and using the materials that retains their authenticity.

Related needs are:

  • to record enough metadata to manage preservation, show provenance and help users understand the materials
  • to manage associated rights issues
  • to monitor technology for changes that could lead to loss of access.

Setting up preservation programs

Managing the preservation of digital materials may be complex, but not all the issues need to be addressed before starting. Even modest programs can buy time against the loss of digital materials.

Consider these points in developing your program:

Understand your situation

Before beginning it is important to understand your responsibilities and to design a program to fit your situation. Consider your program in the context of your broader policies or responsibilities regarding collection, preservation, public accountability and access to materials.

State your objectives

  • Define what you are willing or obliged to preserve, for whom you are preserving it, and for how long. Develop a policy clearly stating the scope of your preservation responsibilities and intentions.
  • Develop criteria for selecting materials to be preserved in line with your policy.
  • Understand how the materials are created and how they may be used. This will help in determining the level of preservation needed and the information required to understand the materials in the future.
  • Consider whether you need to preserve full functionality, or whether materials can be presented in alternative ways without unacceptable loss of authenticity.

Know your collection

  • Identify what you have, and its technical characteristics, through collection documentation, surveys or use.
  • Determine priorities, including pressing risks such as aging or vulnerable media, and software and file formats which are becoming obsolete.
  • Use a metadata scheme suited to your objectives to record the characteristics, support requirements, history and context of the material. (Refer to the PADI website for a range of information on metadata guidelines: http://www.nla.gov.au/padi/topics/30.html)

Protect the data streams

  • Negotiate with rights holders for permission to copy and undertake preservation.
  • Securely store physical carriers such as discs in dust free and relatively stable environmental conditions and avoid poor handling. Backup the data as soon as possible, especially from magnetic media such as floppy discs.
  • Copy the material to a reliable digital storage system with regular backups and disaster recovery measures if available.
  • Assign persistent identifiers to the material to ensure it can be found. (Refer to the PADI website for more information on persistent identifiers: http://www.nla.gov.au/padi/topics/36.html)
  • Manage ongoing data protection in accordance with good IT practices, including adequate data security and backups, error checking and regular copying to fresh media.

Maintain accessibility

The key challenge is the future use of materials when technological changes make original formats and operating environments obsolete.

Long-term solutions are still being developed and may include migrating data to new formats, creating software tools to present original data, and emulating original operating environments to run original software.

Initial steps that can be taken in the meantime are:

  • to retain the hardware and software required to access the materials in the collection. This is only a short-term solution, as hardware will be impossible to maintain indefinitely.
  • If possible, work with creators to produce materials in open, well-supported standard formats for which software access tools may remain available for an extended period.
  • It may be possible to limit the range of preservation formats to be managed, either by acquisition choices or by transforming materials to standard formats. If transforming, retain the original data in case the chosen migration path becomes unsustainable.
  • Monitor the technological environment for signs that equipment, formats and standards are becoming obsolete.
  • Work with or seek guidance from other institutions in developing solutions.
  • Consider producing prints or other non-digital representations of the material if other choices are not available, although this may limit its usability or value.
  • Retain and manage the original data. Even if there is currently no available solution, future methods, tools or other resources may be able to restore access.
  • Assess your ability to care for the materials over the required period. If necessary, develop a succession plan for transferring custody.

The National Library provides information about digital preservation, including links to management guidelines and a range of specific topics, through the PADI (Preserving Access to Digital Information) subject gateway: http://www.nla.gov.au/padi/

First Steps in Preserving Digital Publications, an introductory guide to preserving disk-based publications is available at: http://www.nla.gov.au/pres/epupam.html

Information about the National Library's own activities in digital preservation is available from the National Library's website:

Or contact:

Digital Preservation, National Library of Australia,
Canberra ACT 2600, Australia. Email: digitalpres@nla.gov.au

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