Happy World Digital Preservation Day 2021!

Let’s recognize the role of #libraries and #librarians in preserving digital records today on #WDPD2021!

Are you a custodian of cultural heritage materials? 

Have you made them available online? 

Have you thoughtfully considered long-term preservation as well as access to your materials?

One of the main mottos of digital preservation is “Digitization is NOT Digital Preservation.

That is to say, the digitization and hosting of your items online are great for access, but this is still not preservation. 

Noted digital preservationist, writer, and historian Abby Smith Rumsey emphasizes:

“Just as environments benefit from biodiversity, most especially during periods of rapid ecological change, so too does culture. The more voices we capture and transmit into the future, the larger our collective memory bank grows and the larger the mental toolkit vital to our destiny as problem-solvers.” 

We completely understand that most folks don’t have the bandwidth to thoughtfully consider long-term preservation as well as access–but please remember there are people and resources that you can call upon to ensure your digital content is preserved.

World Digital Preservation Day is our opportunity to remind you that digital preservation professionals can teach you:

    • some of the easiest ways for people to get started with digital preservation at their institutions or with their personal materials.
    • what people should preserve first.
    • what happens when people don’t put together a plan to preserve their digital content.
    • Contact us if you have questions.

RESOURCES

  • For professionals (librarians, archivists, curators) wanting to dig deeper:
  • DLG resources on digital preservation

Articles Cited:

Rumsey, Abby Smith. “How to Preserve Cultural Memory in the Digital Age.”HuffPost, December 7, 2017. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/culture-memory-digital_b_10357622 [accessed October 6, 2021]

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