This site was frozen in 2004 and is now out of date. Please go to RLG's current Web site for all information. Questions? Contact us.

RLG and Preservation

Long-term Retention of Digital Research Materials

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As a March 2002 CIMI Consortium "awareness article" describes, libraries, archives, and museums require a range of new standards, policies, practices, and infrastructure to capture, preserve, and make a growing portion of their collections usable in digital form. Multi-institution consensus and solutions are essential.

RLG is part of an international network of expert partners collaborating on the course of digital preservation. Our current focus is on developing a digital repository model and supporting tools that are tuned to the needs of our members and their remarkable collections.

These projects have evolved from planning begun in the long-running RLG preservation program for analog materials. The work done gives members a collective voice in preservation practices worldwide, helps them to expand local expertise, and fosters practical, readily applied solutions to key issues in long-term retention.

Participation in the unmoderated electronic Preservation Discussion list is open to anyone at a member institution, and all members are encouraged to contact program officer Robin Dale (robin.dale@notes.rlg.org) with questions and feedback.

Projects in 2003-2004

• Updated: "Automatic Exposure"—Technical Metadata for Digital Still Images
• PREMIS—Preservation Metadata: Implementation Strategies (OCLC-RLG)
• Task Force on Digital Repository Certification (RLG-NARA)
• Promoting use of OAIS, the Open Archival Information System

Projects completed in 2002

• OCLC-RLG preservation metadata working group
• June 2002 final report:
  A Metadata Framework to Support the Preservation of Digital Objects (PDF)
• (January 2001 white paper:)
  Preservation Metadata for Digital Objects: A Review of the State of the Art (PDF)
  

• RLG-OCLC digital archive attributes working group
• May 2002 final report:
  Trusted Digital Repositories: Attributes and Responsibilities (PDF)
• (August 2001 draft report:)
  Attributes of a Trusted Digital Repository: Meeting the Needs of Research Resources (PDF)

National and International conferences: programs & papers presented

• Ready to Wear:Metadata Standards to Suit Your Project (RLG-CIMI, May 2003)
  
• Selection and Collaboration in Digital Preservation (RLG-JISC, March 2003)
  
• RLG Open Forum: Converging, Emerging Standards for Digital Preservation (June 2002)
• Information Infrastructures for Digital Preservation: a December 2000 workshop
• Preservation 2000: An International Conference on the Preservation and Long Term Accessibility of Digital Materials

Preservation and digital imaging publications and tools

• RLG DigiNews — August 2003 issue
• RLG Guidelines for Microfilming to Support Digitization (2003)
• Guides to Quality in Visual Resource Imaging (DLF and RLG, 2000)
• Moving Theory into Practice: Digital Imaging for Libraries and Archives (2000)
• "Guidelines for Digital Imaging" conference papers (RLG and NPO, 1999)
• Recording bibliographic information for digitally reformatted materials (1998-99)
• Digital Preservation Needs and Requirements in RLG Member Institutions: commissioned survey (1998)
• RLG Tools for Digital Imaging (1998)
• Preserving Digital Information: Final Report and Recommendations (RLG and CPA, 1996)

These activities build on the strengths and planning of the RLG Preservation Program for analog materials.

Go to RLG key initiatives

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Last updated 4 September 2003

This site was frozen in 2004 and is now out of date. Please go to RLG's current Web site for all information. Questions? Contact us.

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