Preservation Policies
The following policies will be followed to preserve the information in the Academic Archive.
- The repository will try to ensure continued readability and accessibility.
- Items will be migrated to new file formats where necessary and when possible.
- The repository regularly backs up its files according to current best practices.
- In the event of the repository being closed down, the database will be transferred to another appropriate archive.
Challenges and incentives to digital preservation
There are many challenges involved with digital repositories and digital preservation management.
- The digital preservation field is experiencing changes at a very quick pace. Changes in file formats, storage capacities, and hardware and software must be monitored closely.
- No one can solve digital access and preservation problems alone. The library and the university ITS department must work together to achieve solutions.
- U.S. law regarding copyright of digital materials is ambiguous.
- Digital repositories are relatively new service, resulting in inconsistent industry standards that are subject to change. The library must periodically review current available standards and determine which guidelines work best with our institution’s goals and resources.
- Users must become comfortable with both accessing and submitting items to the repository; this will require a certain amount of training and education of both students and faculty.
The advantages of digital preservation and access, however, outweigh the challenges.
- The university’s intellectual output is all housed in one place, accessible from one search.
- Content that was once only accessible onsite at the university is now available worldwide.
- Students are provided a method to publish their best work.
- Digital objects no longer will be “lost” on the web. Each object has its own unique identifying address that remains assigned to that object in perpetuity, even if the object moves to a different location in cyberspace.
- Files are migrated to current formats on a regular basis, so the original creation software is not necessary to access a file’s information.
- The institutional repository raises the university’s visibility in the academic community.
