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Research draft

digital preservation

vr.tr.digital-preservation · thing-q632897

Let an agent explain digital preservation and its strategies, relay standards, tools and institutional practice, describe challenges such as format obsolescence and legal limits, and distinguish preservation from backup and from digitisation.

Thing Registry Activities and processes ACT.PRC

Research draft, second pass

A second pass drafted this model: the structure a model of this thing needs, and what is known about it in the world. The line under this one says how the second half was obtained - researched against sources, or recalled without web access, in which case nothing here was read anywhere and every claim is a lead to verify. Unreviewed either way.

Researched by: Claude

Bundle → Layer → Finding → QuestionsClassifiersWhat it isWhy it existsDistinguishing featuresWhat robots and AI may and may not doMoral aspectsOwnersLinks to other meta-modelsIdentity and identifiersDirect propertiesRecognitionCapabilities and actionsHazards and failure modesStandards and interfacesContext of useSources

Bundle → Layer → Finding → Questions Filled

4 bundles · 8 layers · 8 findings · 16 questions

Understand What digital preservation is.

Definition

Definition and strategies.

Definition

Definition.

  1. What is digital preservation, and what strategies such as migration and emulation exist? definition
  2. Is the question about preservation, backup or digitisation? boundary

Challenges

Challenges.

Challenges

Challenges.

  1. What threats do obsolescence, decay and dependencies pose to digital objects? definition
  2. Which entry fits the specific threat? action
Practice Standards and practice.

Standards

Standards.

Standards

Standards.

  1. What do OAIS, trustworthy repository standards and preservation planning frameworks specify? provenance
  2. Which references are standard? provenance

Institutions

Institutional practice.

Institutions

Institutions.

  1. How do libraries, archives and data centres run preservation programmes and tools? provenance
  2. Which entry fits the specific institution or tool? action
Domains Domains.

Software

Software and games.

Software

Software.

  1. How are software and video games preserved, and what legal issues arise, with positions attributed? provenance
  2. Is the presentation neutral on copyright debates? boundary

Records

Email, web and research data.

Records

Records.

  1. How are email, websites and research data preserved? provenance
  2. Which sources are cited? provenance
Context History and personal.

History

History.

History

History.

  1. How did digital preservation emerge as a field, including the UVC and early programmes? provenance
  2. Which entry fits the history of archives? action

Personal

Personal archiving.

Personal

Personal.

  1. What practices help individuals preserve their own digital material? provenance
  2. Which entry fits personal digital archiving? action

Classifiers Filled

Family
Thing Registry
Category
Activities and processes
Entry kind
thing
Plane
ACT
Domain
ACT.PRC
Other names and narrower kinds
bit-stream preservation, email archiving, software preservation, video game preservation, UVC-based preservation

What it is Filled

The set of activities that keep digital information accessible and usable over time despite obsolescence of hardware, software and formats and decay of media, including bit-stream preservation of the original bytes, migration to new formats, emulation, software and video game preservation, email archiving and approaches such as the Universal Virtual Computer; digital preservation is practised by libraries, archives, museums and data centres under standards such as OAIS and is essential for research, records and cultural heritage.

Why it exists Filled

Let an agent explain digital preservation and its strategies, relay standards, tools and institutional practice, describe challenges such as format obsolescence and legal limits, and distinguish preservation from backup and from digitisation.

Distinguishing features Filled

  • Long time horizon
  • Obsolescence management
  • Authenticity and integrity
  • Standards-based repositories

What robots and AI may and may not do Filled

Must not

  • Delete an original bit stream after a migration without the repository's policy allowing it.
  • Normalise or migrate files in a way that silently loses content or provenance.
  • Make restricted or embargoed material publicly accessible.
  • Strip rights and provenance metadata to simplify storage.

Only with a human decision

  • Deaccessioning or deleting any preserved material.
  • Opening access to material under embargo or personal data restrictions.

May

  • Check fixity, formats and metadata of collections it is authorized to preserve.
  • Migrate or emulate material following the repository's documented policy.

Moral aspects Filled

  • Digital heritage is lost quietly, and losses are usually irreversible.
  • Archives hold personal records whose subjects did not choose publication.

Who is affected

  • Future researchers
  • People whose records are held
  • Depositors and creators

Owners Filled

Steward

The repository or archive that holds the material.

Master systems

  • Archival catalogues and preservation registries

Links to other meta-models Filled

parent

  • Q123751128 - registry parent class
  • Q123819222 - registry parent class
  • Q48797981 - registry parent class

related

  • data preservation - in registry terms
  • storing - in registry terms
  • gathering - in registry terms, in its collecting aspect
  • OAIS reference model - ISO 14721

What else AI and robots need to interact with it Filled

Identity and identifiers required Filled

  • Vercy registry: vr.tr.digital-preservation
  • Wikidata: Q632897 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q632897)
  • ISO 14721: OAIS reference model
  • ISO 16363: trustworthy repositories audit standard

Direct properties not applicable Not applicable

Not applicable

Plane ACT: no invented physical properties.

Recognition optional Filled

  • Long-term access to digital information
  • Bit preservation, migration, emulation, software and game preservation
  • Backup protects against loss short term; digitisation converts analogue to digital
  • Not a visible object; repositories, checksums, format registries and emulators.

Capabilities and actions required Filled

  • explain strategies and standards
  • relay institutional practice
  • describe challenges
  • distinguish from backup and digitisation

Hazards and failure modes required Filled

  • Format and media obsolescence
  • Bit rot and silent corruption
  • Legal barriers to preserving software and games
  • Confusing preservation with backup

Standards and interfaces required Filled

  • OAIS and trustworthy repository standards
  • Legal deposit laws for digital publications
  • Copyright exceptions for preservation
  • Records management laws

Context of use required Filled

  • Keeping digital information usable over time.
  • bit-stream preservation and fixity
  • format migration
  • emulation and virtual machines such as the UVC approach
  • software and video game preservation
  • web and email archiving
  • research data preservation
  • personal digital archiving

Sources Missing, in the backlog

Not described yet. This gap is in the card backlog.

Note: Written from model knowledge without web access; claims are unverified.

Open questions

  • Should software preservation and web archiving be separate entries?
  • How should standards be linked?
  • The registry entry has merged aliases naming specific techniques and domains; should they be split off?

Machine files

Card as JSON Specification Card backlog vercy.card/1

Provenance

thing registry research (pass 2) · unreviewed

Built from: models/things/publications/thing-q632897/spec.json