Have you adopted a set of Digital Sustainability principles?

Owned by Nancy McGovern
Last updated: Apr 29, 2024

Going through a collaborative process at your organization to identify, adapt, and seek approval to adopt a set of digital preservation principles that are grounded in digital preservation standards and good practice is a positive (and hopefully easy) place for a build your DP team or advance your DP program. Benefits of going through the review and approval process include:

  • Providing a high-level frame as a guide for developing the DP program

  • Opening an inclusive discussion about the current status of DP at your organization

  • Beginning to agree upon local use of DP terms and concepts

Every organization that has taken responsibility for the long-term management of digital collections should strive to become a Trusted Digital Repository (TDR).

The 2002 TDR document identifies seven Attributes of a TDR:

  1. OAIS Compliance

  2. Administrative Responsibility

  3. Organizational Viability

  4. Financial Sustainability

  5. Technological and Procedural Suitability

  6. System Security

  7. Procedural Accountability

Adopting a set of DP Principles is an explicit step towards addressing the Administrative Responsibility attribute. The act of adopting a set of principles is more important than which set you select. Review these examples of Digital Sustainability Principles to see which set or individual principles fit with the purpose your organization’s program:

  • Digital Preservation Principles: This set of principles was adapted by the DPM Workshop from the principles that Nance McGovern developed for the Digital Preservation Outreach and Education (DPOE) v.1 2011

  • Ten Principles: Robin Dale, co-chair of the Task Force that produced the initial TRAC document, convened a group while working on a grant awarded to CRL that included Seamus Ross representing the DRAMBORA initiative and Susanne Dobratz representing nestor. 

  • Data Seal of Approval: These principles originated in the social data domain, were extended to address any digital content, and more recently superseded by the current version of the Core Trust Seal, though this original briefer version can help to build a sustainable program. 

  • Framework of Guidance for Building Good Digital Collections: NISO v.3 (2007) is a set of principles that address Collections, Objects, Metadata, and Initiatives aspects of managing digital collections. The fundamentals of the principles remain relevant, the supporting text can seem outdated. 

Sharing your principles once adopted provides a focal point for your next steps for your program and contributes a useful example for other organizations in the community. 

Question for your team/organization: How do your DP Principles align with TDL’s DP Services? TDL members contact TDL for more information and assistance. 

Source: Adapted from DP Principles developed for the Digital Preservation Management (DPM) Workshop: DP Management Tools. 

This is a joint initiative between TDL Digital Preservation Services and the Digital Preservation Management (DPM) Workshop and Global Archivist LLC. Dr. Nance McGovern 2024.

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