streams are some practices to attempt to ensure the authenticity of digital objects. STRATEGIES FOR DIGITAL PRESERVATION As for preservation strategies, there is no strategy for ‘one-size-fits-all’ digital preservation. A range of strategies that are appropriate to different categories of digital material may need to be used. Common approaches to digital preservation are: 1. Technology preservation this approach involves preserving the original – software that was used to create and access the information, and preserving both the original operating system and hardware on which to run it. This strategy is not considered feasible over the long term, though it can be useful to keep one or two generations of earlier software and/or hardware. 2. Emulation this approach involves emulating older software and hardware, – using modern computers. Emulation requires significant resources and technical expertise and is generally not a viable option in small to organisations. 3. Migration this approach involves transforming the digital information into – new formats before the old format becomes obsolete, preserving the intellectual content of the information and retaining the ability of users to retrieve, display and use the information. Of these three approaches, migration is the most reliable, cost-effective and commonly used digital preservation strategy, and is explained in more detail on pages nine to 10 that follow. Backing up digital information It is very important to back up your organisation’s digital information to prevent the loss of this information in the case of a disaster. Backing up involves copying information onto different storage media, such as a separate hard drive or tapes. Always hold at least two copies of information, a working copy and a back-up copy, preferably off site.
streams are some practices to attempt to ensure the authenticity of digital objects. STRATEGIES FOR DIGITAL PRESERVATION As for preservation strategies, there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ strategy for digital preservation. A range of strategies that are appropriate to different categories of digital material may need to be used. Common approaches to digital preservation are: 1. Technology preservation – this approach involves preserving the original software that was used to create and access the information, and preserving both the original operating system and hardware on which to run it. This strategy is not considered feasible over the long term, though it can be useful to keep one or two generations of earlier software and/or hardware. 2. Emulation – this approach involves emulating older software and hardware, using modern computers. Emulation requires significant resources and technical expertise and is generally not a viable option in small to organisations. 3. Migration – this approach involves transforming the digital information into new formats before the old format becomes obsolete, preserving the intellectual content of the information and retaining the ability of users to retrieve, display and use the information. Of these three approaches, migration is the most reliable, cost-effective and commonly used digital preservation strategy, and is explained in more detail on pages nine to 10 that follow. Backing up digital information It is very important to back up your organisation’s digital information to prevent the loss of this information in the case of a disaster. Backing up involves copying information onto different storage media, such as a separate hard drive or tapes. Always hold at least two copies of information, a working copy and a back-up copy, preferably off site.
RGGT18_tcm50-74713.docx