Project to Production: Digital Preservation at the Houses of Parliament, 2010–2020

We have learned from the debate on diversity and inclusion that archiving is not neutral or unbiased even though it is presented in this way. Seen from the perspective of cultural humility, we need to keep learning and challenge power imbalances from both the individual and the organizational level. This article discusses what this means for digital preservation concepts.

Recognizing repeated concerns over the current state of knowledge about long-term digital preservation, the National Science Foundation and the Library of Congress convened a workshop entitled “Research Challenges in Digital Archiving and Long-term Preservation” in April 2002. The main goals of the workshop were to identify the research challenges in digital archiving and long-term preservation; set priorities for research based on input from stakeholders; and propose mechanisms that could build a community of researchers and foster cross-fertilization among research projects. The workshop consisted of plenary presentations and discussions of the various challenges in digital archiving as well as small group sessions to define and set priorities for research. It also provided an opportunity for experts in computer science, mass storage systems, archival science, digital libraries, and information management to discuss obstacles to preserving digital information with government managers and other stakeholders. This report presents a summary of the workshop discussions and recommendations for future research projects.

The Rapid Assessment Model (RAM) is a maturity model for digital preservation that was first published by the Digital Preservation Coalition (DPC) in 2019 (Digital Preservation Coalition, 2024). Originally developed through a collaborative project with the UK’s Nuclear Decommissioning Authority and based on a maturity model published by Adrian Brown of the UK’s Parliamentary Archives (Brown, 2013), it was designed to provide a lightweight and ‘rapid’ tool for measuring digital preservation maturity across eleven different capabilities. As well as providing a framework for assessing current maturity, the model also encourages continuous improvement, enabling organizations to establish targets and goals for future work. This Guidance Note shares strategies that cover advocating for, coordinating, and completing an assessment using the DPC’s Rapid Assessment Model (DPC RAM) with an interdepartmental team. It is based on the author’s experience of leading the Digital Preservation Working Group (DPWG) at the University of Pittsburgh Library System (ULS) through a DPC RAM v3 assessment and is illustrated throughout with practical examples of how this activity was planned and coordinated to maximise the benefits of the exercise. This case study describes the first use of a formal assessment tool to measure digital preservation maturity by the ULS.

PurposeThis paper aims to examine the emerging field of digital preservation and its economics. It seeks to consider in detail the cooperative model and the path it provides toward sustainability as well as how it fosters participation by cultural memory organizations and their administrators, who are concerned about what digital preservation will ultimately cost and who will pay.Design/methodology/approachThe authors cast light on the decisions that administrators of cultural memory organizations are making on a daily basis – namely, to preserve or not to preserve their digital collections. They assert that either way, a decision is being made, costs are incurred, and consequences are being levied. The authors begin by exploring the costs incurred by cultural memory organizations if they do not quickly establish digital preservation programs for their digital assets. They move then to look to the digital preservation field's preliminary findings regarding the costs of preserving digital assets and who should ideally subsidize this investment.FindingsThe authors describe one economically sustainable digital preservation model in practice, the MetaArchive Cooperative, a distributed digital preservation network that has been in operation since 2004. The MetaArchive has built its economic sustainability model and has experienced successes with it for over five years.Originality/valueThere are very few studies or articles in the literature that review studies on the economics of digital preservation and apply them to digital preservation initiatives in action. This article provides that application and further articulates why cultural memory organizations should invest themselves and learn how to provide for the preservation of their own digital collections.

Preservation of digital resources in the 21st century has been a great challenge for library and information professionals. Digital libraries have been built all over the world. Libraries are engaged in creating and maintaining digital libraries. One of the main challenges in maintaining digital libraries is the digital preservation aspect. The aim of digital preservation is to ensure that digital records are filed and are made available through time. Digital information preservation is always the thinking of library and information society. Preservation of digital documents has now become more obvious and necessary because of the fragility of digital data and software and hardware platforms becoming obsolete. The present chapter focuses on the digital preservation, strategies, policies, functions, current activities, and guideline of digital preservation of information.

In the present electronic era, knowledge generation is mostly depend on the Internet. Knowledge is said to be doubling every two years and hence the preservation of scholarly information has become an important function for the libraries. This has opened up a new avenue for digital preservation and its access. The information landscape is moving rapidly from paper/print to electronic, where it becomes important to store the digital information for posterity. Ever changing technology and electronic storage media is a concern for conservation, maintenance and preservation of digitized collection of scientific literature. This paper provides a varied account of how archiving and digital preservation of information was done and furthermore an effort is being made to display RRI digital collections, archiving and preservation for larger use.

Key words: - Digital Preservation, Developing Countries, Information Management, Digital repositories Abstract: - Digital preservation plays a vital role in safeguarding cultural, historical, administrative, and scientific records in the digital era. Although technological advancements have enhanced access and storage capabilities, developing countries face distinct and persistent challenges in implementing sustainable digital preservation strategies. These include limited financial resources, outdated technological infrastructure, and frequent power and internet disruptions. Additionally, a shortage of skilled professionals and technical expertise significantly hampers long-term preservation efforts. Many institutions in the Global South operate without comprehensive policies, adequate organizational support, or clear legal frameworks to guide digital archiving practices. Technical issues such as format obsolescence, media degradation, and the lack of standardized metadata further complicate preservation efforts. Legal and copyright restrictions often inhibit digitization and limit access to preserved materials. Institutional fragmentation and high staff turnover also threaten the continuity and effectiveness of preservation initiatives. Case studies from countries such as Nigeria, Pakistan, India, and Aruba reveal both common challenges and innovative responses. These include leveraging international collaborations, utilizing open-source tools, and engaging local communities to bridge resource gaps. Notably, national initiatives like India’s National Digital Preservation Program illustrate the value of policy-driven approaches. However, the absence of regional cooperation and harmonized legal standards remains a significant barrier. Addressing these challenges requires targeted investments in infrastructure, capacity-building, and collaborative platforms. Ultimately, successful digital preservation in the Global South depends on context-sensitive, inclusive, and scalable solutions tailored to the unique needs and constraints of each country.

This systematic literature review aims to explore digital preservation efforts in digital libraries. As the digital landscape evolves, digital libraries must adopt strategies to keep in line with new technologies and practices. Digital preservation has emerged as a crucial component of the library setting and a key tenet in guaranteeing the preservation of information sources. A total of 50 articles were selected out of 681 articles from Emerald Insight, Scopus, Web of Science, and Science Direct using predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria followed by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement. The findings revealed that out of 50 articles, a total of 54% indicate collaboration and knowledge sharing as key benefits for effectiveness and sustainability, 38% mentioned legal considerations focusing on compliance and access, 57% revealed the best practice is collaboration, investing in technology and regularly monitoring and evaluation, and 44% revealed challenges and limitations while improving the resources accessibility and enhancing the implementation of digital preservation such as lack of skilled staff, limited funding, inadequate policies, insufficient research, unclear strategies and privacy concerns. This study highlights the need for a combined effort involving technology, policies, and partnerships to overcome these obstacles and ensure digital content remains available for future generations. It offers practical insights for libraries and researchers aiming to improve digital preservation in a fast-changing world.

This article reports on part of the findings of a study that was completed at the University of KwaZulu Natal in 2015. The study investigated the strategies used by universities in Kenya for the preservation of their scholarly content and is the first of its kind. The survey method was used within a multiple case study design. The data was collected using questionnaires administered to 350 academic staff and 370 postgraduate students conveniently selected from six universities in Kenya. Personal interviews were used to collect data from the university librarians in these universities. It was found that scholars at the universities were personally engaged in preservation of their digital information but did not extensively use university digital archives, servers or repositories. This was largely attributed to lack of awareness of the important role of digital repositories in digital preservation. The present study reveals that even with the existence of institutional repositories, much need to be done to create more awareness and acceptance of digital repositories as well as integrating digital preservation best practices into the daily repository management activities.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to point out the commonalities of research in digital libraries and digital preservation with regard to the issues of users and context of information.Design/methodology/approachThe paper's approach is a review of selected literature and reports of research projects focusing particularly on digital preservation research.FindingsIt is noted that just like the digital library community the digital preservation research community is also confronted with the challenges of capturing, storing and making use of the information related to users and context.Practical implicationsThe paper points out some current research in digital preservation that aims to handle the users and context information for building future digital preservation systems. It highlights some major challenges in these areas.Originality/valueThe paper reports on the state of the art research in digital preservation.

Keynote presentation for the 2019 Preservation Conservation Conference, hosted by UKZN Special Collections, with the theme: '<i>Disaster Prevention Preparedness, Response &amp; Recovery of Collective Collections and E-collections</i>.' <br><br><br>Precis:<i><br><br>Over the past four years, Digital Library Services at UCT Libraries have been taking an eventful journey towards making digital preservation at UCT a reality. Many small and big detours were made along the way, including exploring new soft- and hardware solutions, having engagements with many different stakeholder communities across campus, moving offices, and eventually also building an (almost) entirely new team. What has emerged strongly is that the wide variety of things needing to be addressed have little to do with technology, namely inclusive strategic planning and organisational design, inclusive conversations, and collaborative, flexible workflows. Based on these insights, we are now actively involved in rebuilding and implementing existing as well as new technologies for sustainable, standards-led end-to-end services, all the way from digitisation, digital archiving, curation and preservation to online showcasing of citable and reusable scholarly resources.<br><br></i><br>Outline:<br><br>1) Drivers for Digital Preservation:<br>Business Owners; Value Propositions; Policies &amp; Frameworks <br><br>2) Practicalities of Digital Preservation: <br>Best Practices; Tools &amp; Systems; Vendors; Roles; Activities <br><br>3) A Data Life-cycle approach to Digital Preservation: <br>Plan &amp; Design; Collect &amp; Capture; Collaborate &amp; Analyse; Discover, Reuse &amp; Cite; Share &amp; Publish; Manage, Store, Preserve <br><br>4) Digital Preservation: an all-inclusive conversation: <br>- DPC | World Digital Preservation Day (07.11.2019) <br>- Australasia Preserves | A digital preservation CoP <br>- NeDICC | Network of Data and Information Curation Communities <br>- 'RDM at UCT' Slack Workspace<br>

Abstract: Digital Preservation is the management of digital information so it can be preserved for a long time and can be accessed for current and future use. Digital preservation is not a single task, but it includes all strategies and actions taken to maintain access to digital information. This paper highlighted the definition of digital preservation, the need of digital preservation, strategies and methods used in digital preservation and challenges encountered in digital preservation. Keywords: Digital Preservation, Strategies, Digital Libraries, Access Control.

Chapter 6: Special Topics

Introduction Many different models are possible for operating a digital preservation service – there are options to suit every size and type of organization, from national bodies with substantial dedicated budgets and teams, to the smallest organization seeking to achieve something practical at minimal cost, and without specialist skills. This chapter analyses the range of possible options, including bespoke, in house and outsourced solutions. It assesses the pros and cons of the alternatives, and considers which elements of a service may be most suited to certain approaches, and under what circumstances. It also considers the current and developing market for providing these solutions. Next, it looks at the process of implementing the chosen solution, and some of the practicalities of operating a digital repository, including the roles required, and availability of suitable training. It then examines the notion of ‘trusted’ digital repositories and proposes a ‘maturity model’ for digital preservation, which enables organizations to assess their capabilities and create a realistic roadmap for developing them to the required level. The alternative models are illustrated by a series of case studies. Options Digital preservation is a comparatively new discipline, and models for good practice, including the technologies and services required to support them, therefore exist at varying levels of maturity. Approaches to providing the fundamental elements of a digital repository are now well established, but some of the techniques and technologies required to deliver advanced preservation functions, especially for newer and more complex types of digital content, remain in their infancy. This section analyses the available options in detail, assessing the respective strengths and weaknesses of each. Do nothing Any analysis of options should always include the status quo – not only does this provide a baseline against which other, more positive, options can be assessed, but it also allows a true comparison of the implications of not taking action. The costs of doing nothing include the continued burden of maintaining archival data on inappropriate storage infrastructure, and the costs of recreating, or failing to preserve, digital resources that would be lost as a result of inaction, as described in Chapter 2, ‘Making the case for digital preservation’. This option assumes no development of digital preservation services, including zero investment and staffing. Table 4.1 sets out the pros and cons of the do nothing option.

This paper describes the Digital Library Workflow and Repository Management system (DLworm) to manage the repositories and to automate the workflow for digital library at any institution/organization. After a detailed and comprehensive analysis of the steps involved in maintaining a digital library system, a concrete model has been developed and tested. DLworm supports most of the functionalities required for such a large repository. DLworm is intended to formulate a fault tolerant system providing integrated environment for all users involved in the processes of maintaining and accessing a digital library. DLworm is a flexible and extensible system supporting phonetic matching for search queries. DLworm uses a three level hierarchy for maintaining the data in the repositories. We describe briefly the architecture that is robust and fulfils the demand for long term preservation of digital data. This article illustrates mechanisms for process management that makes DLworm highly efficient and user friendly.