Preserving Digital Materials

Citation

Calvert, P. (2012), "Preserving Digital Materials", The Electronic Library, Vol. 30 No. 2, pp. 312-313. https://doi.org/10.1108/02640471211221430

In the first edition of this book (published in 2005) Harvey asked four key questions about the preservation of digital materials: why do we do it, what shall we preserve, how do we do it, and how shall we manage the process? These four questions remain at the heart of the second edition. Harvey questioned traditional beliefs about preservation, and in their stead proposed fresh ideas more appropriate to digital preservation in which the longevity of the physical container becomes largely irrelevant and the information contained within the media assumes paramount importance. In this argument there is little or no difference between digitised and born‐digital materials. Harvey took issue with conventional selection criteria taken from library practice and suggested that appraisal methods used by archivists were more appropriate, both in the need to identify content within context and in the requirement to make decisions about preservation early in the lifecycle of materials. Since that time the arguments he (and others) presented have been widely accepted.

The second edition differs from the first in four key ways. First, and perhaps most significantly, digital preservation has become more “standardised” in practice, though that does not necessarily mean the widespread acceptance of formal international standards. Major organisations such as the Library of Congress, the National Science Foundation, and the Joint Information Systems Committee have been active in the development of practice that will inevitably be followed by others. Of particular importance is the Open Archival Information System (OAIS) Reference Model that has had a very significant impact on thinking about digital preservation, especially the seven functional requirements of a digital archive. The OAIS Reference Model is now, of course, an international standard (ISO 14721: 2003). Harvey describes these developments throughout the book, and especially in chapter 5.

Second, Harvey has also taken into consideration some significant publications since 2005, as a good scholar would. The Digital Preservation Coalition's handbook Preservation Management of Digital Materials (2008) is often refereed to. Third, the international perspective has been extended. The first edition contained many references to Australian practice because Harvey was at Charles Sturt University at that time (he is now at Simmons College), whereas this edition contains more examples from American and European practice.

Fourth, the audience for this book has been widened beyond the narrow view of librarians and archivists. This recognises the way that digital preservation now interests scholars in all disciplines, scientists and even interested hobbyists. Indeed, it may well be this wider audience that most eagerly takes up this book as an approachable yet thorough guide to digital preservation practice. They should, as there really is not going to be anything better than this excellent book published in the foreseeable future.