originally: http://www.oclc.org/programs/ourwork/past/digpresrefocus.htm
Digital Preservation—Changing FocusDuring the 1980s and well into the 1990s RLG members engaged in coordinated, largely grant-funded preservation projects focused on brittle materials preservation through microfilming while developing standards, good practice, and sharable expertise. The RLG preservation program (dubbed "PRESERV" in the 1990s) helped members to build effective, visible preservation programs at their institutions and contributed significantly to best practices around the world. With the advice of our "mid-decade planning group" in 1993, RLG began focusing on the opportunities and challenges of research materials in digital form—whether converted or "born digital." By 1996 RLG preservation librarians were creating a strategic plan for preservation linked to RLG’s organization-wide goals for 1996 through 2000. Work began on this plan in 1997 and the cumulative results underpin new work today. 1996 Strategic Plan for PreservationExcerpts from the strategic plan prepared by the PRESERV Advisory Council and endorsed by the PRESERV participants November 1996. I. IntroductionRLG's future role must be shaped in the context of the preservation challenge now faced by libraries and archives throughout its membership. That challenge is represented by four main types of activity: A. Education and training. It is generally acknowledged that education and training must play an increasing role as librarians and archivists attempt to manage and stay abreast of change. Staff, from preservation technicians to preservation program directors to library directors, are affected by the need for preservation education and training. B. Research. The new information technologies are resulting in the rapid development of a wide variety of hardware and software products to capture and distribute information on an unprecedented scale. Libraries must embrace the technology, but also ensure that their interests are being met by pursuing rigorous research in areas of special significance. C. Standards, specifications, benchmarks. Librarians and archivists trying to grapple with a confusing array of practices relating to microform were assured by authoritative standards drawn up by RLG in part to guide a common approach to grant funding. Today, the need for authoritative standards, specifications, and benchmarks is much more essential, but more difficult to obtain because of the growing complexity of the technologies and the fast rate of development. D. Production. The ability of research repositories to deliver the promise of long-term accessibility is conditioned by the rate at which materials can be conserved, reformatted, and effectively stored. In the final analysis, present and future scholars will judge us by the type and amount of library and archival material and information that we save and make accessible. The RLG PRESERV strategic plan attempts to put forward a realistic agenda for the next five years that is tightly focused on initiatives utilizing RLG's strengths. [It] articulates a range of actions from three main sources: RLG members acting as a group, RLG staff acting on members' behalf, and individual member libraries, or small subsets of the group, working on RLG PRESERV initiatives. II. PlanGoal 1: Develop and support the use of digital media as a preservation strategy 1a. Develop strategies for the permanent maintenance and storage of preservation digital files.
1b. Investigate and establish preservation requirements for digital imaging.
1c. Educate and train practitioners and administrators.
1d. Preserve collections through the creation of distributed digital files. Project outcomes should include:
[1d. specifically focused RLG's RLG's planned Global Migration project, to ensure that participants be selected, at least in part, based on their ability to address the preservation issues folded into the project goals. That project was not funded.] Goal 2: Address issues related to preservation of magnetic media 2a. Research and document requirements for preserving magnetic media. Establish a working group to:
2b. Educate and train practitioners and administrators.
2c. Collaborate with existing organizations (Association for Recorded Sound Collections, ALA's Preservation and Reformatting Section, the International Association of Sound Archives, and others) to identify areas of overlap in expertise and areas needing further investigation. Goal 3: Pursue international collaboration in preservation 3a. Provide information about preservation activities throughout the world to reduce duplicative effort, stimulate preservation activity, and facilitate cooperation.
3b. Encourage cooperation in research by developing a commonly understood research and testing agenda.
3c. Work towards the development and general endorsement of international standards and protocols. III. Appendix A[The appendix discussed the value of face-to-face meetings for RLG's RLG's community vs. the challenges of conflicting schedules and travel costs. It recommended an annual RLG PRESERV participants' meeting not tied to other national conferences.] First actionsTo initiate the PRESERV strategic plan, we convened the first five of a series of working groups:
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