What is Digital Preservation?

Digital Preservation refers to the series of managed activities necessary to ensure continued access to digital materials for as long as necessary.

Digital Preservation Handbook

What risks might endanger digital content?

• Is software available to open or access the record or data? As software changes, some file or data types may become inaccessible. Some software loses backwards compatibility over time, breaking features of older formats or making them unreadable. Other software types may become obsolete as popular technologies move on. In many cases, expensive software licences may become cost prohibitive, or vendors may end support for particular products. Sometimes data exported from a decommissioned business system is unreadable or useless outside the context of that system. Some proprietary systems prevent the export of data altogether.  
• Is hardware available that will accept different physical media? Storage media, like software, falls out of use and becomes obsolete. For example, finding hardware to read floppy discs or even CDs can be difficult or impossible. If a floppy disc or CD has not been properly stored, it may not be possible to read them even with a floppy or CD drive. If records have been saved on aging media, the content should be transferred urgently to more stable storage before it becomes difficult, expensive, or impossible.
• Have records and data been stored and managed in a meaningful way? Without a logical or meaningful system of storing and keeping track of records or data, it may be impossible to know what to archive and what to delete. As digital information accumulates and staff move on, the way digital resources are named, organised, and described becomes the only way to identify that resource’s purpose and importance. If the only records of a department are in a folder named ‘Jane’ or all the images named ‘DSC_0999830005’, it will be difficult or impossible to identify things that need to be kept.
• Have records or data been changed or deleted as a result of accidental or malicious actions? System upgrades and even moving files from one location to another can introduce errors or corruption that make content unreadable. Inappropriate access to files – granting permission to the wrong people or too many people – can lead to accidental changes or deletions. Following guidance on storing and managing digital resources, including security and permissions, will help prevent accidental and intentional loss or damage to digital content.
• Have digital records or data been abandoned in old systems or devices? Most of us use multiple devices and platforms to create and share digital resources and likely use multiple cloud storage locations to store information.  As a result, digital content becomes dispersed and accumulates on physical and virtual devices. As individuals and teams move on to new technologies, systems, and platforms, content stored in old locations often becomes forgotten and abandoned. This abandonment creates a risk both of losing important records and accidentally keeping things that should be deleted. 

The Digital Preservation Policy (2025) and Digital Preservation services across L&UC aim to manage these risks and raise awareness amongst the University community about properly managing digital resources.