Digital Preservation: Theory Approaching Practice

Abstract

Digital content permeates every aspect of the academic enterprise. The challenges presented by the need to provide long-term access to this information are widely acknowledged. One key to understanding them lies in recognizing the mismatch between traditional information management practices – practices largely formed in a print-on-paper environment – and the characteristics of digital information. Given the need for different approaches, without a focused planning program there can be no reasonable expectation that digital information created today will remain usable in a few years. A campus-wide Digital Preservation Task Force at the University of Kansas was charged with exploring the implications of a University commitment to the preservation of digital assets, both academic and administrative. The initial stages of this investigation were presented in a project briefing at the Spring 2004 Task Force meeting. In this presentation we will present the three major components and next steps recommended for our emerging digital preservation program:

• An integrated technical architecture of systems and services, designed around the whole lifecycle of digital information, from creation forward

• A set of functional roles and institutional policies required to insure that these systems and services are implemented and maintained

• An education program for faculty, staff, and administrators in the basic concepts and challenges of digital preservation and a training program in information management practices that will contribute to the ongoing availability of digital files.