Digital Preservation Policy 4th Edition (2013)

Definitions of Data:

N/A

Main Focus of Document:

Outline's Australia's National Library policy with respect to preservation of digital collections.

Target Beneficiaries or Sectors:

Archaeologists, historians, local, regional and international persons

Key Elements:

This is Australia's National Library's policy statement with respect to the preservation of digital collections and the intention to collaborate with others to preserve such collections. The objective is to maintain the library's statutory responsibility to develop and maintain a national collection of Australia's published and unpublished information to ensure that they remain available for future use and as such the library sees digital information resources as critical to maintaining its objectives.

The Library’s digital preservation program forms part of its overarching Preservation Program which covers all formats of material the Library collects. This policy should be read in conjunction with the Library’s general Preservation Policy and other policy documents and guidelines relevant to the way digital resources are created, selected, acquired, described and accessed.

Objectives The Library recognises digital information resources as a critically important and increasingly large component of Australia's collecting and preservation responsibilities and has been active in developing infrastructure to collect, manage, preserve and keep Australia's digital collections available. The Library defines the primary objective of digital preservation activities as maintaining the ability to meaningfully access digital collection content over time. The primary concern is preserving the ability to access the Preservation Master File from which derivatives files may be created or re-created over time. To this end, preservation of digital library material includes: • Bit-level preservation of all digital objects which means keeping the original files intact; • Ensuring that authenticity and provenance is maintained; • Ensuring that appropriate preservation information is maintained; • Understanding and reporting on risks which affect ongoing access; • Performing appropriate actions on sets of digital objects to ensure that the objects continue to be accessible; and • Periodic review of preferred formats and digital metadata standards

The challenges of keeping digital information resources accessible The Library’s digital collections are diverse in terms of types of collection materials, sources, and levels of control or influence over their creation. In addition, the Library’s digital collections are currently approaching petabyte scale, and are expected to continue growing.

Policy implementation Implementation of this policy will be contingent on the infrastructure provided by the Library and the availability of cost-effective solutions. These are influenced by expected rates of growth in the size of the Library’s collections, changes in technologies, and infrastructure replacement cycles. In implementing this policy with regard to its own collections, the Library will seek to apply certain principles.