Introduction to Digital Preservation White Paper Series

The information which the world depends on has changed. Once exclusively saved on physical media such as paper or film, it is now almost completely digital. This presents huge opportunities – digital information is easier to distribute, can be higher quality and more functional and can be presented in many interesting ways.

However, due to the accelerating rate of technical change this information is under threat, and that threat increases with time. If we think about the technologies we were using twenty years ago and ask ourselves these questions…

Can we imagine what platforms will be in place twenty years into the future?

Why would today’s information have survived that long and be usable when needed after so many years?

As technology evolves, so does the complexity of digital data, spanning from simple text files to 3D and virtual reality objects. Digital Preservation employs various strategies to mitigate these risks, ensuring that information remains accessible and trustworthy for years to come

Join me on this journey as we navigate the intricacies of Digital Preservation through a series of White Papers and delve into these questions and more. We’ll explore best practices for ensuring the integrity and accessibility of digital content and how this growing problem can be managed using sophisticated Digital Preservation technologies to help preserve the world’s digital memory.

Jon Tilbury

Chief Innovation Officer