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Addressing the uncertain future of preserving the past
Towards a robust strategy for digital archiving and preservation
Storing and curating authentic academic literature and making it accessible for the long term has been a time-honoured task of national libraries. By guarding existing knowledge and facilitating its use to produce new insights, national and university libraries have formed an integral part of the research environment, complementing the roles of other stakeholders such as researchers, publishers and funders. However, recently the digital revolution has modified fundamentally the way that research results are circulated, reviewed, accessed and preserved. Hitherto established models of market dynamics and stewardship need to be rethought and part of the responsibilities of national libraries redefined. This document examines key determinants of the sustainable digital preservation of scholarly records, with specific reference to developing a robust approach to the archiving of such records at the Koninklijke Bibliotheek in The Netherlands.
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Contents
Chapter One:
Introduction
Chapter Two:
A brief history of preserving the digital past
Chapter Three:
Scholarly dissemination and publishing: a complex and dynamic environment
Chapter Four:
Digital archiving and preservation: an area under construction
Chapter Five:
The uncertain future of preserving the past
Chapter Six:
Strategy implications for KB
Appendix A:
Summary of key assumptions underpinning the e-Depot strategy
Appendix B:
List of interviewees
Appendix C:
The technological basis for digital preservation
Appendix D:
12 e-journal archives compared
Appendix E:
Stakeholders’ views and positions on scholarly communication and publishing
Appendix F:
Stakeholders’ views and positions on preservation
The research described in this report was prepared for the Koninklijke Bibliotheek and was conducted by RAND Europe.
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