Happy World Digital Preservation Day, everybody! Whether it be all those pictures and videos on your phone, important tax documents, papers you’ve written for school, or for us at the archives, alllllll of those many thousands of digital objects in our holdings – today is a great day to think about the future of your digital assets!
So, what exactly is digital preservation? And why does it matter? In a nutshell, digital preservation is a combination of strategies that ensure long-term accessibility and usability of digital materials. A lot of you are probably familiar with digitization. While the digitization of analog materials is a very important part of providing access, it is only the first step of a continued preservation process. There must be ongoing maintenance for the entire life cycle of digital files so that the authenticity and integrity of those files remain intact.
Digital materials, just like their analog counterparts, won’t last forever if not cared for. Sometimes file formats become obsolete, hardware becomes corrupted, or you lose access to proprietary software. Performing regular checks using the digital equivalent of fingerprints, making copies and storing them in different locations, and migrating to better-suited file formats or hardware are just a few of the ways that we preserve our digital materials.
For archives and other cultural heritage institutions, access is key! It’s crucial that we protect the integrity of our records because in doing so we preserve our history, stories, and perspectives while also connecting people generationally and geographically. For your own personal records, digital preservation might look like storing photos in both cloud storage and on an external hard drive, being mindful of whether you are using open access or proprietary file formats and software, or moving files from those old CDs and onto more stable devices. Data loss can be devastating, but it’s avoidable with a little upkeep!
If you want to learn more about how you can start preserving your digital materials at home or if you want to learn more about digital preservation in general, check out the Library of Congress and this document from the Digital Preservation Coalition. Happy preserving!