Summary
The KB has conducted a survey after the latest developments with regards to digital preservation at the national libraries of Australia, Canada, China, Denmark, Germany, France, Britain, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Austria, Portugal, the United States, Sweden and Switzerland.
Besides an electronic deposit system a structural R&D programme is required to ensure that digital objects are stored safely for the long term and will remain permanently accessible to future users.
Based on desk research, interviews and information supplied by the participants, a detailed analysis is presented per library on deposit legislation, funding and the manner in which digital preservation is embedded in the organisation. Furthermore, the technical and procedural aspects of the deposit systems are described, as well as current and planned preservation strategies and projects and partnerships in which the organisations participate. The survey reflects the situation in July 2005.
Some conclusions: In July 2005, two of the survey participants had an electronic deposit system that was fully operational, namely the Netherlands and Australia. Two others, the libraries of Britain and Austria, expected to have one by the end of 2005. In total, eleven out of all fifteen participating libraries possessed or expected to possess an operational system within the next five years. Besides the four mentioned above these are Canada, Denmark, Germany, France, Japan, New Zealand and Switzerland.
Three libraries (Denmark, France and New Zealand) expected legislation on the legal deposit of digital objects to come into effect in their country this year, whereas four others (Germany, Britain, Japan and Sweden) expect this to be the case in 2007. In Germany an exception has been made for the national library with regards to copyright legislation, to enable them to fulfil their obligations and store digital material. In among others Canada, France, the Netherlands, Austria and the United States, guidelines are in the making on preferred file formats, types of material and metadata.
A growing number of libraries is embedding digital archiving into its organisational structure. Furthermore, various international partnerships are starting to bear fruit now such as IIPC (International Internet Preservation Consortium), PREMIS (PREservation Metadata Implementation Strategies) and the American initiative NDIIPP (National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program). Also, collaboration on a national and international level has improved, both within the library sector and outside. The European project PLANETS (Preservation and Long-term Access through NETworked Services), for instance, or the Alliance for the Permanent Records of Science, in which cultural heritage institutions and scientific institutions in Europe work together on keeping scientific data permanently accessible.
At the time of the survey only one standard for digital archiving existed, the OAIS Reference Model. The world of digital archiving is a very dynamic one but still developing, which makes it too early to appoint standards or best practices. However, several promising developments are worth mentioning, such as the fact that traditional conservation departments are taking on new roles and become responsible for digital preservation (as is the case in Canada, France, Britain). Or the PREMIS Metadata scheme that was published in 2005 and could potentially develop into a best practice in digital archiving. A perfect example of sharing knowledge on an international level is the PADI information portal, maintained by the National Library of Australia. Finally the activities of national coalitions such as DPC (the Digital Preservation Coalition in Britain) and the German Nestor are very promising and have proven to be an example for cooperation on a national level for other countries (Japan, the Netherlands, Austria).
When a comparison is made with two other surveys in the same field, Neal Beagrie’s CLIR survey in 2003 and the 2004 PREMIS-survey, it can be concluded that digital archiving is increasingly integrated in the daily activities of libraries. Significant progress has been made in building networks in the past couple of years. Networks in the sense of electronic deposit systems but also in the sense of collaboration and partnerships. These networks are increasingly used for developing tools for permanent access, a trend that will only develop further in the future.