Digital preservation

Electronic resources form an increasingly large and significant part of our cultural and intellectual heritage. There are however real challenges associated with ensuring continuing access to these materials into the future. Digital resources, whether created through digitisation of non-digital originals or are "born digital", are threatened by technological obsolescence and physical deterioration.

MLA is a founding member of the Digital Preservation Coalition (DPC). The aim of the coalition is to secure the preservation of digital resources in the UK and to work with other organisations internationally to secure global digital memory and knowledge base.

To inform long-term digital preservation strategic planning in the UK, with particular reference to the needs of local or regional institutions, in 2004-05 MLA commissioned a survey of digital preservation in the regions, which involved a sample of museums, libraries and archives in two English regions - the North East and the West Midlands.

This project contributed to the DPC's digital preservation needs assessment work prgramme, in which MLA played a significant role.