Information stored for the long term has special features. If your organization manages this sort of documents, most likely it requires special technolgy and methodologies.
Information originated in digitization or data recolection processes quickly overweights the one managed during daily operations.
Data have to be stored for years for their future use, and during this period they are infrequently accessed.
The data that we want to preserve are valuable – even critical – for the organization, today and in the future.
When digital information has to be stored and used after periods of more than 10 years, new challenges, that usual technology do not solve, arise.
Traditional systems(backup, DVD, disconnected disks or big servers) are suboptimal in order to guarantee digital information usability in the long term.
A new approach is needed: digital preservation.
Digital preservation is a group of processes and technology that keep your files and digital data safe, accessible and usable for the future . That is, it maintains its integrity, authenticity, reliability, readability and its functionalities. In order to achieve this, digital preservation processes detect, manage and solve all the factors that put at risk the use of your digital information in the future. Due to the big number of formats and systems and their fast evolution, digital preservation is a complex issue. It involves documental science as well as technology. And contrary to what happened in the past, every person from the creator of the content to its curator have to be involved in the process.
In order to be successful, digital preservation has to take into account the whole information life cycle up to its reutilization.
Full digital preservation
Digital preservation is a complex issue, with many different aspects that need to be managed properly. Media, files, data and metadata that describe and help to find the information have to be taken care of during all its life period in order for them to be reusable in the future.
