Building a Future for Our Digital Memory: A Collaborative Infrastructure for Permanent Access to Digital Heritage in The Netherlands

Abstract

This article describes the developments in The Netherlands to establish a national Network for Digital Heritage. This network is based on three pillars: to make the digital heritage visible, usable, and sustainably preserved. Three working programs will have their own but integrated set of dedicated actions in order to create a national infrastructure in The Netherlands, based on an optimal use of existing facilities. In this article the focus is on the activities related to the sustainable preservation of the Dutch national digital heritage.1 On 21 May 2007, a group of organizations took the initiative to set up a coalition to address the problem of digital preservation in The Netherland in a collaborative way. This coalition of the willing became a foundation in 2008 with its mission to establish an infrastructure (organizational and technical) that guarantees long-term access to digital information in The Netherlands.