LS 207: RECORDS MANAGEMENT

AND ARCHIVES ADMINISTRATION II

MODULE 4
PRESERVATION

By Aidan Kabudi
WHAT IS PRESERVATION?
1. Is the act of keeping something as it is,
in order to prevent it from decaying or to
protect it from being damaged or
destroyed.
( Cambridge Dictionary 2024)
 2. These are all actions taken to maintain an
object in its existing condition, minimize the
rate of change and slow down further
detoriation and/or prevent damage are part of
preservation.
- Preserving an object involves:
• Preserving the integrity and authenticity of the
object
• Creating a safe display and storage
environment, which includes controlling
temperature, relative humidity, light levels,
pests, dust and other pollutants ( Community
Museums Program“ Australia” 2010)
 In summary preservation can be seen as an
activity, function of making sure materials,
resources are safe and prevented from being
damaged or destroyed.
• In library terms;
Preservation is the prolonging the existence of
library and archival materials by maintaining them
in a condition suitable for use, either in their
original form or in a form that is more durable,
through retention under proper environmental
conditions i.e actions taken after a book or
collection has been damaged to prevent further
deterioration. ( Online Dictionary of Library and
Information Science)
 A lot of people usually incorrectly equate
preservation with “conservation” and
“restoration”
These three terms are not the same, they
have different meanings and purposes;
In records and archival terms they can be
differentiated as follows:
 PRESERVATION
-The passive protection of (archives/records) materials,
in which no physical, technological or chemical
treatment is performed
-Total sum of processes and tasks performed in order to
protect records and archives (in any form) against
damage or deterioration
Actions include: developing preservation policies,
maintenance of adequate environmental and storage
conditions, housing records and archives in stable
storage environments, handling and managing archives
in order to ensure they are safe from harm.
 CONSERVATION
-Active protection of archival material (paper
and analogue materials)
-Use of physical and chemical treatments to
repair damaged or deteriorating items or to
minimize further deterioration
Actions include: repairing maps, cleaning
works of art, removing the dust from bound
ledgers
 RESTORATION
Involves the repair of an item, either to return it to its
original appearance or to improve its aesthetic qualities
-Often undertaken when the look of an item is
important or when the item is in grave danger of
complete deterioration
Action includes: restoration of audio visual
materials( cassette, reel-to-reel tapes, VHS recordings,
magnetic media, digital restoration to know what is
stored on corrupted or damaged storage device i.e.
floppy disk, hard drive
PRESERVATION CONSERVATION RESTORATION
- The passive protection - Active protection of - Involves the repair of an
of (archives/records) archival material (paper item, either to return it
materials, in which no and analogue materials) to its original
physical, technological - Use of physical and appearance or to
or chemical treatment is chemical treatments to improve its aesthetic
performed repair damaged or qualities
- Total sum of processes deteriorating items or to - Often undertaken when
and tasks performed in minimize further the look of an item is
order to protect records deterioration important or when the
and archives (in any - Actions include: item is in grave danger
form) against damage or repairing maps, cleaning of complete
deterioration works of art, removing deterioration
- Actions include: the dust from bound - Action includes:
developing preservation ledgers restoration of audio
policies, maintenance of visual materials(
adequate environmental cassette, reel-to-reel
and storage conditions, tapes, VHS recordings,
housing records and magnetic media, digital
archives in stable restoration to know
storage environments, what is stored on
handling and managing corrupted or damaged
archives in order to storage device i.e. floppy
ensure they are safe disk, hard drive
from harm.
1. What are the importance of preserving
archival materials?
2. What are the challenges you can face while
preserving records/archival materials?
 PRESERVATION POLICIES,
STRATEGIES AND STANDARDS:
 PRESERVATION POLICY:
What is a Policy?
1. A “policy” is a set of coherent decisions with
a common long term aim(s) and which relate
to a specific organizational purpose. It
describes the what and why of the policy
(Caroline Williams 2006)
2. A policy is a set of ideas or plans that is
used as a basis for
making decisions, especially in politics, econo
mics, or business. (Collins Dictionary 2024)
Examples of policies could be education
policy, security policy, defense policy, health
policy
• A policy is a set of principles, rules, guidelines or
procedures established by an organization,
institution, government, or individual to guide
decisions and achieve specific goals.
• Policies can cover a wide range of areas such as
governance, operations, finance, safety, security,
human resources, and more.
• Policies are tpically documented and communicated
to ensure consistency, promote transparency and
provide a framework for decision making
So what is a Preservation Policy?
- According to Millar (2017), a preservation policy
articulates the institution’s goals and priorities
specifically for preservation.
- Foot (2018) saw preservation policy as a plan of
action for the safe keeping of library and archive
materials. It is preferably written, but not set in stone:
a living document, to be used, checked, and revised if
and when the need arises. It states what needs to be
preserved, why, for what purpose, and for how long.
• It is important to develop the preservation
policy in keeping with the goals and strategies
established in the institution’s core archival
policy. All decisions about archival
management, from preservation to acquisition
to reference, need to work coherently to
achieve the institution's larger vision, mission
and mandate.
Components/parts of a preservation policy: According
to Mirjam Foot (1999)
1. Definitions (e.g. of preservation, conservation,
surrogating)
2. Mission Statement or Strategic Objectives of the
Library
3 .Strategic Objectives for preservation of the collection
(policy principles, including a statement on cooperation,
where appropriate)
4 .Needs assessment

5. Retention Statement (or link to separate

retention policy);possible link to collection
development policy

6 .Security Statement (or link to separate

security policy)
7. Link to Storage policy -
Statement of (desired) environmental conditions or
reference to relevant national/international standard
8. Link to Access policy -
Guidelines for access; guidelines for handling of
material (to cover e.g. reading room access, access for
loan, reprography, exhibitions)
9. Statement of preservation philosophy (preventive
preservation balanced with active conservation)
10. Surrogating or substitution policy
What needs to be taken into account when
formulating a preservation policy?
1.Purpose of institution :
What needs to be preserved and why are
directly linked to the purpose and function of
the collections and of the institutions in which
they are kept.
There are many different kinds of libraries and
archives, ranging from national institutions and
large research collections, to specialist libraries
and archives, local record offices and public
lending libraries. They cater for a wide variety of
users, from academics, businesses and private
researchers, to children and all others who want
to be educated and entertained
2. Cooperation :
Cooperative acquisition, collection
management or preservation programmes
may be planned, or already in place. A
preservation policy must incorporate such
commitments.
3. Nature of the collection:
What needs to be preserved, why and for how
long, will be influenced by the nature of the
material.
Broadly collections will comprise original
sources and secondary material, basic
research material in a variety of materials,
media and formats.
• These will impose their own conditions, but they also
serve many different purposes. The purpose of the
collection, even more than its physical format and the
different media in which the information is presented,
determines its preservation needs. Different formats
and different media may need different strategies and
demand different technical solutions, but the aims and
the purpose of the library or archive and its functions
determine its preservation policy, which must cover all
formats and all media.
4. Digital material :
When we consider digital material the need
for sustainable access introduces an extra
dimension. For digital material; machine-
readable texts require the appropriate
hardware and software to make them
intelligible to the users. Unless these are
available, we will not be able to access and
use the data
5. Library and archive functions :
The purpose of a collection is a determining
factor in its preservation needs, but other
library and archive functions that are closely
linked to preservation need to be considered,
such as acquisition, retention and access.
• The strength of these links and the relative importance
of these functions, again depend on the purpose of
the institution in question, as well as on the nature of
the material. Although the purposes of the various
kinds of libraries and archives vary, they will all have
some basic objectives in common. All acquire material,
mostly with the aim of making it available, and all
want to retain some of it for a longer or shorter
period, some in perpetuity. They will therefore have to
ensure that those collections are in a fit state to be
used
Why is a preservation policy
needed?
Preservation policies are a visible expression
of intent, they are signs of accountability, and
they allocate responsibility to the governors,
staff and users of an institution; they can
explain why decisions are taken and why
certain actions are or are not carried out.
• They are used to allocate funding, develop
preservation strategies and plan coherent
preservation programmes, programmes that
add up to an overall useful result, taking into
account the needs and benefits of the
collections; they can be monitored and they
form benchmarks against which performance
can be judged.
• Read the following:
1. UK data archives preservation policy
https://
dam.data-archive.ac.uk/controlled/cd062-prese
rvationpolicy.pdf
2. Managing preservation in practice: Tanzania
by Charles Magaya
https://
www.nyaraka.go.tz/uploads/documents/sw-164
0783840-MADA%20YA%20toledo%20TRAMP.pd
f
3. Records preservation in developing
countries by Simon Sekiete
https://
www.ajol.info/index.php/udslj/article/view/26
626

4. How to develop a preservation policy? By

Yvonne Friese
https://
iassistquarterly.com/public/pdfs/iqvol36_34_f
PRESERVATION STRATEGIES:
What is a strategy?
A “strategy” is the action path the
organization has chosen to realize goals.
Strategies establish broad themes for future
actions. It articulates “how” and “in what
order” actions are taken. ( Caroline Williams
2006)
• According to Juneja (2015) strategy is an action that
managers take to attain one or more of the
organization’s goals.
- Strategy can also be defined as “A general direction
set for the company and its various components to
achieve a desired state in the future. Strategy results
from the detailed strategic planning process”.
Therefore preservation strategies are commitment
contain in preservation policies that ensure the
survival of the archival material, the “how to”
element that underpins the policy statement.
A long term strategy should be developed from the
preservation policy, and its content will depend on
the priorities set by the organization through its
stated aims and objectives. It will include a number
of aims and will set specific measurable objectives.
 In order to develop effective strategies it will
important to have background information on:-
1. The physical condition of the documents
2. The quality of current storage arrangements
3. Current and anticipated use
4. The historic importance of particular
documents, such as founding charters or
seminal development reports
5. The overall development plans of the
archive
6. The likely budgets over the next few years
- Collecting the information listed will enable
an archive to decide on the strategies and
priority areas for preservation action.
 What are the best strategies for preserving records?
1. Identify your records
• The first step in preserving records is to identify what types of
records you have, and how they are classified, organized, and
stored. Records can be physical or digital, and they can have
different formats, such as paper, audio, video, or email. You
need to know the nature, value, and purpose of each record,
and how it relates to your business processes and legal
obligations. This will help you determine the retention period,
the security level, and the preservation method for each
record.
 2. Follow a retention schedule
• A retention schedule is a document that specifies how
long you need to keep each record, and what to do with
it after that period. It is based on the legal, operational,
and historical requirements of your organization, and it
helps you avoid keeping records longer than necessary, or
disposing of them too soon. A retention schedule also
helps you save space, reduce costs, and comply with
regulations. You should follow a retention schedule
consistently, and review it periodically to reflect any
changes in your business or legal environment.
 3. Protect your records
• Another strategy for preserving records is to protect them
from any threats that could damage, destroy, or
compromise them. These threats can be physical, such as
fire, water, pests, or theft, or digital, such as viruses,
hackers, or corruption. You should implement appropriate
security measures, such as locks, alarms, backups,
encryption, or passwords, to prevent unauthorized access,
use, or disclosure of your records. You should also monitor
and control the environmental conditions, such as
temperature, humidity, or light that could affect the quality
and longevity of your records.
 4. Maintain your records
• Maintaining your records means ensuring that they are
accurate, complete, and up-to-date, and that they can
be accessed and used when needed. You should update
your records regularly, and correct any errors or
inconsistencies. You should also ensure that your
records are compatible with the systems and software
that you use, and that they are not affected by
obsolescence or degradation. You should also provide
adequate training and guidance to your staff on how to
handle and use your records properly.
 5. Transfer your records
Sometimes, you may need to transfer your records to
another location, department, or organization, for various
reasons, such as storage, collaboration, or legal compliance.
When you transfer your records, you should ensure that
they are properly packaged, labeled, and documented, and
that they are handled with care and respect. You should
also maintain a record of the transfer, and confirm the
receipt and condition of your records at the destination.
You should also follow any policies or procedures that apply
to the transfer of your records.
 6. Archive your records
• Archiving your records means preserving them for long-
term or permanent retention, because they have historical,
cultural, or research value. Archiving your records requires
a different approach than managing your current or active
records, as you need to consider the preservation format,
the metadata, the access rights, and the storage conditions
of your records. You should also consult with experts, such
as archivists or librarians, who can help you select,
appraise, and describe your records, and ensure their
availability and usability for future generations.
Read the following:
Adila Ismail & Habee Bullah Affandy (2017)
Conceptual Paper: Digital Preservation
Strategies in Archival Institution
https://
doi.org/10.1051/matecconf/201815005052
 PRESERVATION STANDARDS:
What are standards?
Britannica Dictionary definition of STANDARD is
a level of quality, achievement, etc., that is
considered acceptable or desirable.
 Numerous bodies generate standards, from the
International Standards Organization (ISO)
through national standards bodies such as the
British Standards Institute (BSI) to professional
associations and organisations.
Some standards are quite specialised (ISO
23081-1 2017: metadata for records) while
others are intended for general application (ISO
11799 2015: document storage requirements for
archive & library materials)
These standards are useful and detailed
document which contains a list of further
relevant standards and a reading list and
provides all round guidance
Preservation policies and strategies also need to
note which preservation standards they aim to
comply with
There are several International standards that
are useful and detailed and provides all- round
guidance on preserving materials.
Example: BS 5454: 2000 ( Recommendations for
the storage and exhibition of archival
documents)
INTERNATIONAL CONTAINS
STANDARDS
ISO 11799: 2003 Document storage requirements
for archive and library materials
ISO 23081: 2004 Information and documentation
- Records management
processes: metadata for records

ISO 11108: 1996 Information and

documentation. Archival
paper. Requirements for
permanence and durability
• ISO 11799:2003 https://
www.iso.org/standard/38536.html
• ISO 15686-1: 2000 https://
www.iso.org/standard/28702.html
• ISO 23081:2004 https://
www.iso.org/standard/36627.html
REFORMATTING MATERIALS, CREATING
SURROGATES AND MANAGING DIGITAL DATA
Reformatting materials:
* Is a preservation strategy that allows users
to access the informational content of a
vulnerable audiovisual, electronic or textual
document via a copy.
- Once they are duplicated, these copies can
serve as duplication masters (to make
additional copies) and as reference material
(Vogt- O’Connor 1995)
* Is the copying of the information to a more
stable and accessible format in order to provide
access to the archival material without further
physically endangering the originals (NARSSA
2016)
 Criteria/factors used to select materials for
reformatting:
(a) Value:
Priority is given to high value at risk materials
of the organizations' interest. Key resources
for organizations histories, interpretation,
resource management and research
(b) Use:
Original materials that have high frequency of
demand/high retrieval costs are strong
candidates for reformatting.
High use materials are requested most
frequently for reference purposes by staff
and/or outside researchers.
High use materials have high value.
 (c) Risk:
- Materials which are primarily chemically unstable
which results in their self destructing and damaging
or contaminating nearby materials, as well as posing
health hazards to staff and researchers who use
them.
- Moderate risk materials are experiencing primarily
mechanized or physical damage due to their
housing and handling and the characteristics of the
materials of which they are composed.
• Low risk materials tend to be the more long
lived processes in undamaged condition and
adequate storage conditions.
Creating surrogates:
Cambridge dictionary (2024) defined
surrogate as someone or something that
replaces or is used instead of someone or
something else, a substitute or another.
• Making archival materials accessible is the
main objective in preserving them. However,
heavy and excessive use of the materials will
shorten their life significantly. Producing
surrogate copy and reformatting are the
effective means in resolving the conflict.
Access policies can be laid to protect the
unnecessary use of original materials by
accessing the surrogate copy instead.
• Yet the quality of the surrogate copy should be
ascertained to contain as much as possible the
information in the original. After making
surrogates or reformatting the information
content, so long as the original materials are
designated as having archival value, they
should still be kept and never be disposed of.
 There are ways of creating surrogates and they are:
• Photocopying:
For paper records, photocopying (if carried out
with archival quality papers) can preserve the
information content of records. For records on
unstable paper, such as thermal paper or heavily
deteriorated paper, photocopying is a necessary
step to ensure the survival of the information
content.
• Surrogate copy of audiovisual items
Making surrogate copy from audiovisual items
is the best practice in holding maintenance.
The image and/or sound content should be
copied by an appropriate, well-maintained
and functioning machine to the same medium
as the original (film, microfilm, disk, digital
media).
Reformatting
The continuous access to the information contained in
an archival record depends on the continuous
accessibility of the medium and format of the
information that can still be understood by the
contemporary users. As time goes by, it is perhaps
necessary to transfer the information to a new format
or even a new medium that is most viable and
accessible in the current time. This process is called
reformatting. Paper archival records can be reformatted
to microfilms or digital images.
 Importance of reformatting materials and creating
surrogates:
1. Increase lifespan: Prolongs the life of the originals by
protecting it from further handling
2. Availability and access: Makes unique materials more
widely available through the provision of duplicates
3. Security: Protects the security of vital records by
enabling storage of copies offsite
4. Cost effectiveness: May assist in reducing high storage
costs
Managing digital data:
Digital data is the electronic representation of
information in a format/language that
machines can read and understand
- Digital data is a binary format of information
that’s converted into a machine readable digital
format (EGYNTE 2022)
- Examples of digital data includes photos,
videos, text-based files, e-books
Digital data management is the practice of
collecting, storing and providing access to
information so that it can be analyzed and used.
- Goal of managing this digital data is to provide
access in a way that it protects the data to the users
- Involves the definition and implementation of
policies, practices and procedures that facilitate the
effective and efficient use of digital data.
 Components of managing digital data:-
(i) Optimized storage: to expedite retrieval of information data i.e.
desktops, laptops, external hard drives, cloud storage
(ii) Data security: to protect data from unauthorized use and maximize
privacy
(iii) Backup systems
(iv) Data management software: When considering these best
practices together, it is recommended, if not required, that you invest
in quality data-management software. Putting all the data you are
creating into a manageable working tool will help you find the
information you need. Then you can create the right data sets and
data-extract scheduling that works for your archival needs, general
examples: Google Cloud, Amazon web services, IBM
For records: fileplan, Kontainer( visual records i.e PDF files, photos)
BORN DIGITAL PRESERVATION AND
DIGITIZATION PROGRAMMES
 Digital Preservation (DP) is the process of
maintaining, managing, and storing digital
content in a way that ensures it remains
accessible and usable into the future and used
by future generations. It is a proactive approach
to managing digital content, including taking
steps to ensure that it will not be lost or
corrupted over time. (Giovanni Sisinna 2022)
Digital preservation represents an emergent area
of digital library research and practice. It focuses
on the policies, technologies, and strategies to
ensure that digital library objects and collections
are available and usable now and in the future.
Digital preservation encompasses materials born
in the digital format as well as those converted
from the analog format through the digitization
process. (Iris Xie , Krystyna K. Matusiak 2016)
- Digital Preservation is the active management and
maintenance of digital objects (the files, or groups of
files, that contain information in digital form) so they
can be accessed and used by future users.
- It involves planning, resource allocation, and
application of preservation methods and technologies,
and it combines policies, strategies and actions to
ensure access to reformatted and born-digital content,
regardless of the challenges of media failure and
technological change.
“Born digital preservation” refers to the process of
maintaining and protecting digital content that was originally
created in a digital format, as opposed to being converted
from a physical format. This includes various types of content
such as digital documents, emails, websites, social media
posts, digital photographs, audio files, videos, and databases.
Born-digital items are materials that are created in a digital
format. This includes websites, email, digital photographs,
electronic records, and more. Born-digital items are distinct
from analog items that are subsequently digitized, such as
paper manuscripts or photographs.
• The goal of born digital preservation is to
ensure that these digital objects remain
accessible and usable over time, despite
technological changes and potential data
degradation. This involves several key
practices: Metadata Management, File Format
Strategies, Storage Solutions, Access
Control,Digital Preservation Policies,
Emulation and Migration
• Overall, born digital preservation is a critical
aspect of digital archiving and information
management, ensuring that digital heritage
and information remain accessible for future
generations.
Need/Importance of Digital preservation:
- In a rapidly digitizing world, Digital Preservation
is essential for companies, organizations, and
governments to preserve their digital assets. It is
also important because it allows us to keep track
of our history and culture in a more accurate and
complete way than ever before and that our
digital heritage is not lost as technology changes
and file formats become obsolete.
There are many reasons why Digital Preservation is important.
(i) Data Loss: DP ensures that important information is not lost if a
device fails or is damaged. As more and more information are
stored electronically, the risk of data loss increases and once they
are lost, they cannot be recovered. As we all know, digital data can
be very volatile and can be easily lost or corrupted. By preserving
digital data, we can make sure that it will be available for future
use.
(ii) Asset Value: Digital Preservation helps to preserve the value of
digital assets. In many cases, the value of a digital asset lies in its
uniqueness - such as a rare photo or video footage of an event. If
this asset is not preserved, it may be lost forever, or its value may
diminish over time as similar assets are created.
(iii) Access over time: DP ensures that
information remains accessible over time. As
technology changes, it can become difficult to
access older electronic files. By preserving these
files, companies and organizations can ensure
that they will be able to access them in the
future - even if the technology used to create
them is no longer supported.
(iv) Cost Saving: Digital Preservation helps us save money in the
long run. Although it may cost money upfront to preserve
digitized data, it will ultimately save money because digitized
data does not degrade over time like physical media does. In
addition, once data is preserved in a particular format, it can be
used over and over again without incurring additional costs.
Another reason for preserving digital information is that it can
be very costly and time-consuming to recreate it. For example, if
an organization wants to digitize its archival records, but does
not have a good plan for preserving them, it may have to do the
work all over again in a few years when the records become
unreadable due to format obsolescence or data rot.
(v) Enhanced Access: DP enhances access to information.
When data is properly preserved, it becomes much easier
and faster to search for and retrieve specific information
when needed. This is especially useful for researchers who
often need quick access to large amounts of information.
(vi) Historical Record: Digital Preservation contributes to
the overall goal of building an accurate historical record of
our society and culture. By preserving digitally created
content such as websites, social media posts, and email
messages, we can create a rich store of knowledge that
will help us better understand our past and present.
(vii) Legal and Regulatory: DP can help organizations to
meet legal and regulatory requirements. In some cases,
companies or governments are required to keep certain
records for a specific period of time. By preserving
these records electronically, they can ensure that they
will be able to meet these requirements.
Digital Preservation is therefore essential for
companies, organizations and governments that want
to protect their information assets and ensure that they
remain accessible and usable into the future.
 Difficulties/challenges/ threats faced in
digital preservation:
1. The obsolescence of software and hardware:
Technological means are being developed really
quickly and they become easily superseded, this is
“technological obsolescence”.
Digital resources in older formats can not be easily
and/or directly compatible with newer formats.
Technological obsolescence also includes the
supersession of storage media, example being more
difficult to find devices that read CDs,DVDs( tablets,
mini laptops dont have appropriate reading device)
2. The fragility of digital media:
Digital resources are not so stable and they can be easily
corrupted. This problem is defined as “media degradation”,
the degradation of the media is the decline of the physical
quality of the media that carries a digital resource because
of the material itself and environmental factors.
Material factors: digital quality of the carrier and of the
equipment used to access the digital content
Environmental factors: bad temperature, humidity
conditions, pollution, light
3. Costs of digital preservation:
The cost of managing digital preservation is
potentially high and frequently under-calculated for
the long term.
There is widespread concern that digital preservation
is an additional cost to organizations still stuck with
for the foreseeable future with the costs of
traditional preservation, few organizations assign a
special budget to meet the long term needs for the
management and preservation of digital materials.
4. Technical challenges:
Depending on the preservation approach selected you
may need to explore available options for export and/or
transfer of records from the system in which they reside
and establish a workflow or process. It may be possible to
set up an automated transfer to your digital archive but
this is technically complex and dependent on many factors
including the availability of APIs, compatibility of systems
and skills available. Emulation is an alternative
preservation approach but comes with its own technical
complexities..
5. Lack of expertise:
Experienced, qualified, skilled, trained staff are
currently few and far between and are
consequently often expensive to acquire for
organizations.
 Steps/ways/strategies for digital
preservation:
Planning a digitization programme:
*Digitization is time cosuming, costly and potentially
damaging to archival materials, so any digitization
initiative must be well planned so that is efficient, cost
effective and sustainable.
*The objectives of this program is to increase access to
the Archives/Records for users regardless of location and
it should be based on a long-term vision.
*As always, the first step is to clarify the nature and scope
of the digitization programme and balance that initiative
against the institution’s core mandate.
What should be preserved:
* The process of creating, selecting and preserving
“born digital” material has re-emphasized the
importance of the records management principle
of the lifeycle of documents.
* For digital materials, decision is needed about
the length of time a document is required but is
dictated by the likely life expectancy of the
technology rather than the medium.
• Timespans:
(i) Short term: Access for a predicted length of time
but with no intent to prserve the material beyond
that/ beyond the point at which the technology has
changed
(ii) Medium term: Access beyond the lifetime of the
technology with which it was created but not for
permanent access
(iii) Long term: Indefinite access to the information
even if not in its original format
• The decision made about the longetivity
required for the information will influence the
nature of the metadata needed to enable
continued access.
Digital Preservation plan:
According to ISO 16363 (2012) defined a preservation plan in the
set of documented strategies for preserving the collections of a
preservation repository. A preservation plan is divided into four
parts:
(i) The mission statement: defines the commitment of an
organization regarding the digital resources that has under its
custody. This statement is usually taken from or based on official
documents.
(ii) The preservation strategic plan: states the goals and
objectives for achieving the preservation mission of the
repository as defined in the mission statement
(iii) The preservation policy: Describes in broad
terms the methodology that the repository will
apply for the preservation of the resources
under its custody
(iv) Preservation implementation plan:
Analytically describes the services offered by the
repository in order to preserve the digital
resources, and it should always be in line with
the preservation policy
 PRESERVATION TECHNOLOGIES:
*There are a number of technologies available for
preserving digital materials that have the purpose of
keeping the content accessible in the face of technological
obsolescence and media corruption
*Digital preservation technologies encompass a variety of
methods and tools designed to ensure the long-term
accessibility and usability of digital information. These
technologies are critical for maintaining the integrity of
digital data over time, especially as hardware and software
systems evolve.
- The technologies include:-
1. Migration:
Most widely adopted digital preservation strategy. Through migration, data are
copied from one technology to another. This preserves the essential
characteristics of the data although the “look and feel”might change, means you
can periodically transfer data to a new generation of computer technology while
preserving their intergrity and enabling users to retrieve and display the data in
the face of constantly changing technology.
Migration Strategies:
• Format Migration: Converting files from obsolete formats to current, widely-
supported formats to ensure continued accessibility i.e Many national libraries
and archives have ongoing projects to migrate older digital content to new
formats.
• System Migration: Moving digital resources from outdated systems to current
systems to prevent obsolescence i.e moving from on premises infrastructure to
cloud, transfering data from one server to another
2. Emulation:
Running software on hardware or software platforms that
imitate the original environment, allowing obsolete formats
and systems to be accessed.
Allows programs or media designed for one environment to
operate in a different one, but to look the same.
Involves creating a software environment that mimics the
original hardware and software used to create and access
digital content. This allows older digital content to be
accessed and used on modern systems without altering the
original files.
3. File Formats:
• PDF/A: An ISO-standardized version of the Portable
Document Format (PDF) specialized for use in the archiving
and long-term preservation of electronic documents.
• TIFF: A flexible, adaptable file format for handling raster
graphics images, widely used in document imaging and
archiving.
• XML: Extensible Markup Language, often used to encode
documents in a format that is both human-readable and
machine-readable.
4. Storage Solutions:
• Digital Repositories: Systems designed for the storage,
preservation, and management of digital content, such as
DSpace, Fedora, and LOCKSS (Lots of Copies Keep Stuff
Safe).
• Cloud Storage: Services like Amazon S3, Google Cloud
Storage, and Microsoft Azure, offering scalable storage
solutions with redundancy and durability.
• Tape Storage: Used for long-term storage due to its
durability and cost-effectiveness for archiving large
volumes of data.
 DIGITAL PRESERVATION
CONCEPTUAL MODELS AND
METADATA
- With the aim of providing neccessary information
needed to help in the digital preservation process,
various models, standards and metadata schemes
have been developed over the years.
- Metadata, often refered to as “data about data”
is data that provides information about other data.
It helps to organize, find, and manage data by
describing its characteristics and properties.
Digital preservation metadata is a type of
administrative metadata specifically focused on
ensuring the long-term accessibility and usability
of digital resources. It includes information
necessary to maintain, interpret, and manage
digital content over time, despite the inevitable
changes in technology.
 Types:
Administrative: for managing & administering
information resources ( copyright, acquistion
information, date of digitisation, name of
operator, history of actions performed on the
digital object and others)
Descriptive: Used to describe/identify
information resources ( search, retrieve and
interpret the item)
Technical: Related to how a system functions
(digitisation information i.e formats, equipment
used, scanner settings)
Preservation: Related to the preservation
management of information resources ( physical
condition, preservation actions taken and
others)
further types: structural, use
Examples of metadata:
PREMIS ( Presevation Metadata Implementation
Strategies): An international standard for digital
preservation metadata. It provides a comprehensive
data model and set of guidelines for documenting
the information necessary to support the long-term
preservation of digital materials. PREMIS is designed
to be flexible and adaptable to various types of
digital objects and preservation strategies.
Dublin Core (DC): The Dublin Core Metadata
Element Set is a standard for describing a wide
range of resources, including digital and physical
objects. It consists of 15 core elements that are
intended to be simple and flexible, making it
widely applicable across different domains. These
elements are: title, creator, subject, description,
publisher, contributor, date, type, format, identifier,
source, language, relation, coverage, rights
 MODELS:
Digital preservation models provide frameworks
and guidelines for ensuring the long-term
preservation and accessibility of digital objects.
Several well-known models and frameworks are
used in the field of digital preservation, each
offering a structured approach to managing
digital resources.
Examples:
OAIS reference model
Open Provenance Model (OPM)

Assignment: Read further this models and

metadata
Bountouri Lina ( Archives in the Digital Age:
standards, policies and tools pg 44-49)
THE END