Policy UL-AD19 Digital Preservation Policy

Main Policy Content

Table of Contents


Overview

The Pennsylvania State University Libraries (University Libraries) collects and makes accessible content that meets the teaching and research needs of the University. Digital content requires special attention to ensure its long-term preservation and accessibility. This high-level plan that describes the University Libraries’ commitment, support, philosophy, and strategies for digital preservation will be updated over time as conditions change within the operating context.

This plan is modeled after digital preservation documents from Big Ten Academic Alliance members, other research libraries, and the digital preservation policy framework developed by Nance McGovern (McGovern, 2014).


1. Administrative Responsibility

The Pennsylvania State University Libraries (University Libraries) is committed to sustaining a robust digital preservation program to ensure the long-term preservation and access of its collections. The 2014-2019 strategic plan explicitly states the Libraries’ support for taking proactive steps to address preservation, both physical and digital.


1.1 Purpose

University Libraries inspires intellectual discovery and learning through robust information resources and academic collaborations in teaching and research that connect the Penn State community and citizens of Pennsylvania to the world of knowledge and new ideas. To achieve and facilitate this mission, University Libraries must have a robust digital preservation policy for the stewardship for digital content—born-analog (digitized) and born-digital—within our collections. Due to its dependence on technology for interpretation and use, digital content is at significant risk of being lost or made inaccessible due to technical obsolescence, and requires different treatment than traditional analog materials. A robust program builds capacity to address digital preservation concerns for the majority of collections while freeing up capacity to continually expand that majority by developing strategies to handle an evolving digital content landscape.


1.2 Mandate

Preservation practices and activities are not self-contained, but rather act within a regulatory and programmatic environment that helps to shape the ways in which we operate. University Libraries’ mandate for digital preservation includes, but is not limited to, the following.

  • Organizational support: The Pennsylvania State University (PSU) is a multi-campus, land grant, public research university that educates students from around the world and supports individuals and communities through integrated programs of teaching, research, and service. As Pennsylvania’s land grant university, Penn State provides access to education and public service to support the citizens of the Commonwealth and beyond. In support of this mission, the University Libraries, a world-class research library with a global reach, identifies, acquires, makes accessible, and preserves analog, born-analog, and born-digital collections.
  • University records: University Libraries’ Eberly Family Special Collections Library operates the University Archive which collects, preserves, and provides access to administrative and academic records of the University determined to have long term historical adn research value as defined by University Records Retention Schedules. PSU Policy AD35 University Archives and Records Management describes the guidelines for retention and disposition of records, including conditions for reformatting.
  • Legal and regulatory obligations: Penn State University has mandated responsibilities to preserve and maintain access to certain University Records stored as digital content, as defined by the Records Retention Schedule, as well as responsibilities as a designated land grant institution. Some regulatory obligations derived from Federal and State laws require us to preserve digital content.
  • Consortia and contractual obligations: University Libraries has consortia obligations and contractual agreements to assume or share in the responsibility for preserving designated digital content.


1.3 Objectives

The purpose of a digital preservation program is to preserve access to unique and high research value digital content for library users and the wider research community. This work is not done in isolation; it is integrally connected to the work of University Libraries. Some, but not all, high-level aims and objectives are to:

  • Protect the University Libraries’ investment in digital content through a fully implemented digital preservation program that can protect unique and high research value born-digital content and born-analog (digitized) content, particularly for analog formats at risk of inaccessibility without digitization.
  • Enable uninterrupted (not necessarily instant) access to preserved digital content over time as technology changes.
  • Establish standardized workflows, available to all of University Libraries, to safely receive and transfer digital content on physical media.
  • Establish Levels of Digital Preservation Commitment that define the activities and resources expended for a particular resource, or class of resources, to allow flexibility in digital preservation decisions made by selectors and collection stewards.
  • Identify digital assets to be preserved across new generations of technologies. Work with selectors, collection stewards, and collections strategists to prioritize content for digital preservation activities.
  • Comply with, and contribute to, the development of the standards and best practices of the international digital preservation community.
  • Adhere, to the greatest extent possible, to standards and best practices of the international digital preservation community for infrastructure, formats, metadata, methods, and technologies, while at the same time realizing that pragmatic decisions are sometimes in the best interest of the University Libraries.
  • Seek, expand, and develop digital preservation strategies and methods that contribute to service offerings to meet the needs of University Libraries and the University community.
  • Provide guidance on selecting for digital preservation that aligns with criteria for selecting, acquiring, and managing collections. Not everything may be preserved at the same level.
  • Ensure that digital preservation concerns are incorporated into legal agreements (e.g. deeds of gift, licensing agreements) and other contracts for the acquisition of collections.
  • Raise awareness for digital preservation concerns across the University Libraries, particularly for liaisons, selectors, and collection stewards responsible for collection development and maintenance. Preservation processes are carried out throughout the University Libraries.
  • Serve as a digital preservation resource for the University Libraries, University community, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
  • Stay current with emerging technology, solutions, and trends for preserving and providing access to digital content.
  • Adopt, use, and develop open source technologies for digital stewardship of libraries and archives collections.


2. Organizational Viability

Penn State University Libraries have supported the research and teaching needs of the University community since its founding in 1855. Starting as one room in the main building, University Libraries has expanded and grown several times, with the increased support from the Board of Trustees to fulfill its mandate. Penn State University is committed to permanently supporting the needs of University Libraries.


2.1 Scope

The Digital Preservation Program is responsible for identifying, securing, and providing the means to preserve and coordinating access to digital content under the stewardship of the University Libraries, including Commonwealth Campus Libraries. Digital content includes, but is not limited to:

  • unique materials and materials of enduring value, including both born-digital and born-analog; and
  • unique digital materials from outside sources for which the library has contractual obligations.

University Libraries has the responsibility of informing, consulting, and, as appropriate, coordinating with other units at Penn State University to assure that the University community will have adequate ongoing access to administrative, scholarly, and other digital content created at Penn State outside of the libraries.


2.2 Operating Principles

  • The principles in this plan apply only to digital preservation activities. They do not, and are not, intended to restrict the ability of selectors and collection stewards to acquire whatever digital content they are empowered to collect.
  • Long-term access to selected digital content is the primary goal of preservation activities.
  • Procedures will always seek to best represent archival theory and practice around issues pertaining to provenance and integrity of digital content.
  • While it is necessary to comply with copyright, intellectual property rights, records retention schedules, and/or other legal rights related to replicating, storing, retaining, modifying, and using digital content, University Libraries will broadly exercise its rights to preserve and make available unique, high research value digital content.
  • Digital content must be described in a library catalog or archival information system to be preserved. If something is worth preserving, it is worth describing. It is not helpful to preserve under-described and under-documented content. If necessary, additional resources should be identified to support descriptive work.
  • An interoperable infrastructure, leveraging open-source software and community standards, is in the best interest of University Libraries. Scalability, flexibility, and reliability are requirements in an infrastructure that is designated for digital preservation, and it must be managed in accordance with environmental, quality control, security, and other standards and requirements.
  • Transparency through publicly accessible, consistent, documented plans, strategies, procedures, and practices for creating and preserving digital objects communicates trust to our stakeholders and support for the digital preservation community.
  • Partnerships and collaborative agreements will be investigated and established when deemed to be an appropriate use of library resources.
  • Provide appropriate training and development for staff in areas related to digital preservation, as well as raise awareness about digital preservation issues and developments for both additional staff and the broader community of digital content creators, producers, selectors, collection stewards, and users.


2.3 Roles and Responsibilities

Within the Libraries, the Dean of University Libraries and Scholarly Communication, the Associate Dean for Technology and Digital Strategies, the Judith O. Sieg Chair for Preservation, and the Preservation, Conservation, and Digitization Department, all contribute to the oversight and management of the Digital Preservation Program and life cycle of digital content. Library administration evaluates high-level plans and policy documents and reviews programmatic plans and progress.

Roles and responsibilities are spread throughout University Libraries; everyone who interacts with digital content held by the University Libraries plays a role in its preservation and departments should incorporate digital preservation concerns into their practices and workflows.

Selectors and collection stewards play a lead role in making decisions about the acquisition and the ongoing preservation of digital resources. The digital preservation program provides guidance, infrastructure, and collection services; selectors and collection stewards make decisions how these are applied.


2.4 Selection and Acquisition

The University Libraries collection development statement and related documents should set forth the priorities and criteria for acquiring digital content. Individual collection policies or records retention schedules may exist to inform subject-specific or collection needs. Digital resources are subjected to the same overarching criteria for curation, selection, management, and preservation as other resources in the University Libraries’ collection. Digital preservation should be a concern throughout the digital collections workflow, with selection decisions made upfront. Selectors and collection stewards, who have expertise on the enduring value of content, make these decisions in consultation with digital preservation specialists.

Additionally, University Libraries cannot be expected to commit to preserving digital content if the Library:

  • does not know what needs to be preserved;
  • cannot judge the extent of that commitment, e.g. does not know what dependencies may need to be maintained to preserve access or what preservation strategies might need to be resourced and used in order to preserve the content; and
  • has not been funded to preserve the content.


2.5 Access and Use

Without the preservation of digital materials, access would not be possible and essential cultural heritage materials would be at risk. Access to preserved digital content is provided using the most appropriate technology available at the time of use. Stakeholders of the digital preservation program include traditional users such as library departments, patrons, faculty, and other stakeholders such as the University community, Pennsylvania Commonwealth, and other cultural heritage organizations. The University Libraries preservation program complies with access restrictions as defined in all University Policies, relevant laws, regulations, licenses, and legal agreements.


2.6 Challenges and Risks

  • Pace of technological innovation: All technology is continually changing. It is a dynamic industry with rapid growth and changes. The technology that produces content is constantly evolving and not always backwards compatible. New classes of content are created with many competing formats that take time to standardize. The technology that stores and manages digital content also changes frequently. New security vulnerabilities which put content at risk are found regularly. Establishing a program that is responsive to change is an immense challenge.
  • Sustainability: Digital preservation, over the long term, is a costly endeavor. Unlike analog collections, where benign neglect in a climate-controlled environment can be sufficient, digital content is fragile and can easily become corrupted and impossible to render. Best practices include multiple copies stored in multiple locations which must be regularly monitored. Storage may be inexpensive, but preservation is not. The program should reflect reasonable expectations of requisite resources; the University Libraries should not promise more than can be delivered.
  • Administrative continuity: While administrative personnel may change at University, Libraries, or Department levels, it is important that support for the digital preservation program always remain strong. Consistent and adequate allocation of resources is critical to a successful digital preservation program. Advocacy should flow between all levels so that administrators always understand the need and resources required to sustain a digital preservation program.
  • Partnerships with creators and providers: Decisions made when creating digital content can have a significant impact on whether a resource can be preserved. Working with creators and providers early in the digital content life cycle will better facilitate future preservation. However, it is not always possible or feasible for selectors and collection stewards to intervene early with content creators.
  • Expertise: Training and awareness will be provided for all University Libraries staff since they contribute directly and indirectly to the digital preservation function, although most library employees do not have digital preservation as an explicit or significant portion of their responsibilities. University Libraries is committed to providing appropriate training for, and raising awareness about, digital preservation issues and developments, both for its internal staff and for the broader community of digital content producers, collection stewards, and users.
  • Rights: While libraries are granted specific exceptions to intellectual property laws in the United States, they do not cover every situation, and digital content may come from anywhere in the world. Some digital content may have licensing agreements that make digital preservation difficult, if not illegal. The University Libraries will broadly exercise its rights under the appropriate state and federal laws and regulations and will negotiate for preservation rights when licensing or entering into contractual agreements.


3. Collaboration and Outreach

Penn State University Libraries acknowledges digital preservation as a shared community responsibility, and as such has long-standing and emerging partnerships with similarly committed organizations (such as the Big Ten Academic Alliance and the National Digital Stewardship Alliance) and is committed to collaborating with other institutions, as well as with units within Penn State to:

  • advance the development of the digital preservation program,
  • share lessons learned with other digital preservation programs,
  • extend the breadth of its available expertise, and
  • extend the digital content that is available within a broad information community to libraries’ users through cooperative efforts.

Generally, in working, cooperating, and collaborating with others, Penn State University Libraries desires to:

  • understand the goals, objectives, and needs of the communities of creators and the communities of consumers of its digital resources;
  • identify appropriate partners and stakeholders to contribute to regional, national and international efforts in digital preservation;
  • help develop regional, national, and international strategies and initiatives that enable the distribution of collecting, description, service delivery, digitization, and preservation activity; and
  • work actively with creators of digital materials to encourage and promote standards and practices.


4. Financial Sustainability

Penn State University Libraries recognizes the importance of digital preservation and has identified specific resources to support and enhance its digital preservation program. Permanent positions have digital preservation explicitly written into their job descriptions and receive professional development funding. University Libraries is an active member in multiple digital preservation networks, consortia, and other organizations dedicated to finding community solutions for digital preservation.


5. Technical and Procedural Suitability

Penn State University Libraries will use a variety of technical strategies as part of its digital preservation program. To sustain a program, it is helpful to broadly categorize the amount of effort put into preserving any one digital object. Selectors and collection stewards will assign a Level of Digital Preservation Commitment for selected content.


5.1 Levels of Digital Preservation Commitment

Over time, digital content stewarded by University Libraries is preserved as is, converted to new formats, migrated to new platforms, and sometimes supported with a custom emulation environment depending on the selected Level of Digital Preservation Commitment. Due to limited library resources and the nature of digital content, University Libraries cannot digitally preserve everything it acquires or creates. Selectors and collection stewards must make collection management decisions and appraise digital content to select a Level of Digital Preservation Commitment. The gradient of the Levels reflects the appraised value and informs both the preservation actions and the number of copies for the selected content.

Levels may be assigned at any level of digital content: collection, object, or file; collections may contain objects with different Levels of Digital Preservation Commitment.

Scope

  • Digital resources must either belong to or be licensed (with the necessary rights to preserve) by the University Libraries.
  • The digital preservation program's scope does not include digital preservation of content that is already commercially available elsewhere or that is already preserved in a trusted digital repository.
  • While appraisal should not be limited by file formats when selecting a Level of Digital Preservation Commitment, file formats may limit University Libraries' ability to take preservation actions.
    • E.g. a 1982 3D model might be selected at Level 3, but depending on the file formats and technical requirements for rendering the 3D object, it may only be possible to take the preservation actions described in Level 2.

Level 0: No Action

No effort will be made to preserve digital content that has not been selected for digital preservation by a selector or collection steward. However, this content may receive typical IT backups.

Level 1: Bit-Level Preservation

Basic level of digital preservation support, best efforts will be made to maintain integrity of the original digital object only, as is.

Only basic preservation actions on the original object, including: 

  • bitstream maintenance;
  • persistent, permanent identifier;
  • preservation metadata;
  • 2 copies stored in geo-redundant locations with appropriate access controls;
    • At least 1 copy on Penn State Infrastructure
  • regular virus and file corruption checks and/or periodic refreshments to new storage media.

Level 2: Logical Preservation

Mid-level of preservation support, best efforts will be made to maintain integrity and understandability of informational content in addition to bit-level preservation. Objects of this type will not be migrated to successive formats nor updated to new formats, though informational content will be preserved.

Preservation actions include:

  • 3 copies stored in geo-redundant locations with appropriate access controls;
    • At least 1 copy on Penn State Infrastructure
  • monitor file format for changes that might warrant reassessment to Level 1 or 3;
  • rendered formats present challenges with new versions of rendering software; these formats will not be transformed to new versions, but the content will be wholly preserved;
  • container formats present challenges as the files that makeup the final file can fall out of use even though the format itself is still in use, when possible, these files will be transformed to a format that preserves as much content as is possible on a case-by-case basis; and
  • basic preservation actions in Level 1.

Level 3: Object Preservation

Highest level of preservation support, best efforts will be made to maintain integrity, understandability, renderability, as well as functionality of the original digital object.

Preservation actions include:

  • 4 copies stored in geo-redundant locations with appropriate access controls;
    • at least 1 copy on Penn State Infrastructure
    • at least 1 copy in distributed digital preservation storage
  • monitor file format for changes that might warrant transformation or reassessment to Level 1 or 2;
  • migration of file to successive format when necessary;
  • proprietary formats present challenges to some preservation activities, when possible, widely-used and supported formats will be transformed into a format that preserves the content, and when possible, the formatting and style of the original, but not necessarily the functionality; and
  • basic preservation actions in Level 1.

Summary of Preservation Actions, by Level

Preservation Actions

Level 1

Level 2

Level 3

Assignment of persistent identifier

X

X

X

Creation of preservation metadata

X

X

X

Secure storage

X

X

X

Regular fixity checks

X

X

X

Regular virus checks

X

X

X

Strategic monitoring of format for changes

 

X

X

Migration to successive format upon obsolescence

 

 

X

Emulation of the original environment

 

 

X

Periodic refreshment to new storage media

X

X

X

2 copies

X

X

X

3 copies (1 offsite copy)

 

X

X

4 copies (1 offsite copy, 1 DDP copy)

 

 

X


5.2 Infrastructure

The University Libraries Strategic Technologies department (LST) partners with Penn State IT to design, procure, build, support, maintain, and sustain the University’s digital preservation infrastructure. The following principles will be used:

  • the design of University Libraries’ digital preservation infrastructure will demonstrate a commitment to redundancy, including technological, geographic, and cloud distribution;
  • vendor lock-in is counter-productive to the goals of sustainable digital preservation, exit strategies and migration plans should be developed for all infrastructure;
  • replacement criteria and schedules will be developed and documented for all associated hardware and cloud services;
  • Penn State IT is responsible for disaster recovery plans for data center operations, plans, along with details on fire suppression and related systems, will be included in University Libraries documentation;
  • the use of any third-party services or collaboration partners will be evaluated according to their commitment to sustainability and standards;
  • disaster recovery plans for any content residing in a third-party service will be mutually agreed upon and included in the University Libraries documentation;
  • automated processes, conforming to digital preservation best practices, will be developed and implemented to ensure the integrity, renderability, and usability of the preserved content over time, and alert selectors and collection stewards of events that may put content at risk; and
  • all procedures comprising preservation workflows will be thoroughly documented and periodically reviewed; employees will be trained to follow these procedures and keep the documentation current.


6. Information Security

Penn State University Libraries has a responsibility to safeguard digital content from unauthorized access and use to protect the privacy and intent of content creators.


6.1 Systems Security

All systems in the digital preservation infrastructure will meet or exceed Penn State University security requirements, policies, and procedures, such as PSU Policy AD95 Information Assurance and IT Security. Rights and use information will be recorded in the metadata and enforced through access controls.


6.2 Disaster Recovery

University Libraries’ digital preservation infrastructure will be considered mission-critical, with appropriate levels of monitoring, response, and recoverability. While digital content stored on Penn State University Penn State IT hardware is subject to the disaster recovery plans of University data centers, the overall digital preservation infrastructure is built around redundancy and should have multiple recovery strategies.


6.3 Authenticity

University Libraries ensures the authenticity and integrity of its digital content through active and ongoing use of checksums from receipt of the digital content onward. In addition, University Libraries’ conducts periodic reviews and audits of its digital content.


7. Procedural Accountability

To be successful, this digital preservation policy must be explicitly approved by the University Libraries’ Administration. The date and source of approval will be noted in this section of the plan. The University Libraries will review this plan every two years to ensure that it remains current and comprehensive as the digital preservation program at University Libraries evolves. All changes will be appropriately documented and approved in section 7.2, Plan Administration.


7.1 Audit and Transparency

Periodic self-assessments and audits will be conducted by the University Libraries to evaluate, measure, and adjust the procedures, practices, and strategies of the digital preservation program. The results of the assessment will be documented and acted upon. As much as possible, documentation will be publicly accessible on the University Libraries website, to demonstrate organizational commitment and be fully transparent to our stakeholders, digital preservation communities, and the University community.


7.2 Plan Administration

This digital preservation policy was drafted in Spring/Summer 2018 and updated in 2020 and 2021 to incorporate stakeholder feedback. It was approved by the University Libraries’ Dean’s Library Council on 11 January 2021.


7.3 Related Documents and Policies


8. Glossary

  • access: 1) The ability to locate relevant information by catalogs, indexes, finding aids, or other tools. 2) The permission to locate and retrieve information for use (consultation or reference) within legally established restrictions of privacy, confidentiality, and security clearance. 3) The physical processes of retrieving information from storage media.
  • analog: Continuously varying in correlation to a physical process. A physical, tangible object.
  • archival records: University Records that are not-active, have been retained for the duration of the retention period for the specific records series or document type, and are designated as having a disposition method of “Transfers to Archives”, or “Review by Archives”. Archival Records are not required to be retained in the Unit in which they originate or are received. These records have enduring research or historical value and, as a result thereof, should be retained and preserved indefinitely. (See also, university records.)
  • authenticity: The quality of being genuine, not a counterfeit, and free from tampering, and is typically inferred from internal and external evidence, including its physical characteristics, structure, content, and context.
  • bit-level preservation: A term used to denote a very basic level of preservation of the digital object as it was submitted (literally preserving the bits forming a digital object).
  • bitstream: 1) A sequence of binary information transmitted, stored, or received as a unity without regard for internal organization or grouping. 2) The flow of data over a network.
  • born-analog: Information that was created in a non-digital format and subsequently digitized.
  • born-digital: Information created in electronic format.
  • checksum: A mathematical value used in a simple error-detection method to verify data. See also, fixity.
  • collection: 1) A group of materials with some unifying characteristic. 2) Materials assembled by a person, organization, or repository from a variety of sources; an artificial collection. 3) The holdings of a repository.
  • collection steward: Collectively refers to selectors and archivists and others who have collection development or management responsibilities. An individual responsible for oversight of a collection or an exhibition, typically within special collections. Sometimes referred to a curator or archivist.
  • container format: A file format that wraps around one or more bitstreams that together comprise a file. E.g. an AVI container may contain an uncompressed video stream, uncompressed audio stream, and subtitles.
  • digital content: A broad term encompassing digital surrogates created as a result of converting analogue materials to digital form (digitization) and born digital for which there has never been and is never intended to be an analog equivalent, and digital records. It is the thing that is being preserved. Sometimes referred to as digital materials, digital resources, digital objects, or digital collections.
  • digital content life cycle: An ongoing process of creation, acquisition, appraisal and selection, preservation activities, storage, access use and reuse, and transformation.
  • digital object: A unit of information that includes properties (attributes or characteristics of the object) and may also include methods (means of performing operations on the object). Also may be referred to as a digital resource.
    • simple digital object: One description for many files, within a single digital object.
    • compound digital object: Multiple descriptions for many files, within a single digital object.
  • digital preservation: Refers to the series of managed activities necessary to ensure continued access to digital materials for as long as necessary. Digital preservation is defined very broadly for the purposes of this study and refers to all of the actions required to maintain access to digital materials beyond the limits of media failure or technological and organizational change. Those materials may be records created during the day-to-day business of an organization, born-digital materials created for a specific purpose (e.g. teaching resources), or the products of digitization projects.
  • digitization: The process by which analog materials are converted to born-analog digital content. Sometimes synonymous with reformatting.
  • file format: A file format is a standard way that information is encoded for storage in a computer file. It tells the computer how to display, print, process, and save the information. It is dictated by the application program which created the file, and the operating system under which it was created and stored. Some file formats are designed for very particular types of data; others can act as a container for different types. A file format is often indicated by a file name extension containing three or four letters that identify the format.
  • fixity: A process for ensuring the integrity of a file and verifying it has not been altered or corrupted. During transfer, an archive may run a fixity check to ensure a transmitted file has not been altered enroute. It is most often accomplished by computing checksums such as MD5, SHA1 or SHA256 for a file and comparing them to a stored value.
  • functionality: The set of functions or capabilities associated with digital content.
  • geo-redundant: Two or more locations in different threat-zones.
  • information content: The valued data and information a digital object may contain that needs to be preserved, not the digital object itself.
  • infrastructure: Computer hardware, servers, networks, clients, and software used to manage digital content.
  • integrity: The binary arrangements of ones and zeros that comprises a digital object(s). Sometimes referred to as bit-level preservation.
  • logical preservation: The aspect of preservation management that is concerned with ensuring the continued usability of meaningful information content, by ensuring the existence of a usable manifestation the digital object.
  • lossless compression: A mechanism for reducing file sizes that retains all original data.
  • lossy compression: A mechanism for reducing file sizes that typically discards data.
  • metadata: A characterization or description documenting the identification, management, nature, use, or location of information resources (data). Generally categorized as descriptive, technical, administrative, or preservation metadata.
  • migration: A means of overcoming technological obsolescence by transferring digital resources from one hardware/software generation to the next. The purpose of migration is to preserve the intellectual content of digital objects and to retain the ability for clients to retrieve, display, and otherwise use them in the face of constantly changing technology. Migration differs from the refreshing of storage media in that it is not always possible to make an exact digital copy or replicate original features and appearance and still maintain the compatibility of the resource with the new generation of technology.
  • object preservation: A term used to denote the highest-level of preservation, where the digital object itself is deemed to be high value, not just its contents. Object preservation is often the most complex and may require specialized strategies such as emulation.
  • reformatting: Copying information content from one storage medium to a different storage medium (media reformatting) or converting from one file format to a different file format (file re-formatting).
  • refreshing: Copying information content from one storage media to the same storage media.
  • renderability: The ability to display digital content in its original form.
  • rendered format: A file format that must be transformed or interpreted from raw code into a format intended for humans. E.g. HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
  • redundancy: Sometimes referred to as replication.
  • selector: A librarian with collection development responsibilities in a particular subject area. Sometimes referred to as liaison or bibliographer.
  • sustainability: The process of change, in which the exploitation of resources, the direction of investments, the orientation of technological development and institutional change, are all in harmony and enhance both current and future potential to meet human needs and aspirations.
  • understandability: The ability to understand the informational content of a digital object. See also, logical preservation.
  • University Archives: University Archives serves as the institutional memory of the University and plays an integral role in the management of Penn State’s information resources in all media and formats. To fulfill the responsibilities of that role, University Archives identifies, acquires, and maintains records of enduring value that chronicle the development of the University and ensures these records continued existence. University Archives also documents the process of institutional evolution by retaining both the evidence - which shapes decisions - and the decisions themselves.
  • university records: Information that documents a transaction or regularly conducted activity of the University and that is created, received or retained pursuant to law, University policy, or in connection with a transaction, business, or activity of the University. The term includes documents, papers, letters, books, drawings, maps, plans, photographs, tapes, film or sound recordings, microforms, digital or analog files, information stored or maintained electronically, and data- or image-processed documents. (See also, archival records.)


9. References

Digital Preservation Coalition. (2017). Digital Preservation Handbook Glossary. Retrieved June 8, 2018, from https://perma.cc/36X9-UBQM

Harvard University Libraries. (2017). Digital Repository Services Policy Guide, Version 3.0. Retrieved June 5, 2018, from https://perma.cc/YJ2F-A3GA

Levine-Clark, M., & Carter, T. M. (Eds.). (2013). ALA Glossary of Library and Information Science (4th ed.). Chicago: American Library Association. Retrieved June 5, 2018, from https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/pensu/detail.action?docID=1492914#

Merriam-Webster Dictionary. (n.d.). Retrieved June 8, 2018, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/

McGovern, N. (2014). Digital Preservation Management Model Document. Retrieved June 5, 2018, from https://perma.cc/8B36-MZ6Y

Northwestern University Libraries. (n.d.). Digital Preservation Policy. Retrieved June 5, 2018, from https://perma.cc/Q94H-MGFJ

Ohio State University Libraries. (2013). Digital Preservation Policy Framework. Retrieved June 5, 2018, from https://library.osu.edu/document-registry/docs/260/stream

Pearce-Moses, R. (2005). A Glossary of Archival and Records Terminology. Chicago: Society of American Archivists. Retrieved June 6, 2018 from https://www2.archivists.org/glossary

Penn State University. (n.d.). Mission and Character. Retrieved June 5, 2018, from http://www.psu.edu/this-is-penn-state/leadership-and-mission/mission-and-character

Rieger, Oya. (2004). Digital Preservation Policy Framework. Retrieved June 8, 2018, from http://hdl.handle.net/1813/11230

Sustainability. (2018). In Wikipedia. Retrieved June 8, 2018, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainability

University of Minnesota Libraries. (2014). Digital Preservation Framework. Retrieved June 5, 2018, from https://perma.cc/8QNT-YYGM

University of Utah Libraries. (n.d.). Digital Preservation. Retrieved June 8, 2018, from https://perma.cc/6V45-EJNY

University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries. (2018). Digital Preservation Policy Framework Draft. Retrieved June 5, 2018, from https://perma.cc/3FZK-BNKT

Yale University Library. (2014). Yale University Library’s Digital Preservation Policy Framework. Retrieved June 8, 2018 from https://web.library.yale.edu/sites/default/files/files/YUL Digital Preservation Policy Framework V1 0.pdf