Editing Digital preservation (section)

===Sustainability===
Digital sustainability encompasses a range of issues and concerns that contribute to the longevity of digital information.<ref>Bradley, K. (Summer 2007). Defining digital sustainability. Library Trends v. 56 no 1 p. 148-163.</ref> Unlike traditional, temporary strategies, and more permanent solutions, digital sustainability implies a more active and continuous process. Digital sustainability concentrates less on the solution and technology and more on building an infrastructure and approach that is flexible with an emphasis on [[interoperability]], continued maintenance and continuous development.<ref>[http://www.tasi.ac.uk/advice/managing/sust.html Sustainability of Digital Resources. (2008). ''TASI: Technical Advisory Service for Images.'']  {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080304023605/http://www.tasi.ac.uk/advice/managing/sust.html |date=March 4, 2008 }}</ref> Digital sustainability incorporates activities in the present that will facilitate access and availability in the future.<ref>[http://ijdc.net/index.php/ijdc/article/view/63 Towards a Theory of Digital Preservation. (2008). ''International Journal of Digital Curation''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130123060816/http://www.ijdc.net/index.php/ijdc/article/view/63 |date=2013-01-23 }}</ref><ref>[http://wiki.lib.sun.ac.za/index.php/SUNScholar/Digital_Preservation/Electronic_Archives_Preservation_Policy ''Electronic Archives Preservation Policy'']  {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130310105710/http://wiki.lib.sun.ac.za/index.php/SUNScholar/Digital_Preservation/Electronic_Archives_Preservation_Policy |date=March 10, 2013 }}</ref> The ongoing maintenance necessary to digital preservation is analogous to the successful, centuries-old, community upkeep of the [[Uffington White Horse]] (according to [[Stuart M. Shieber]]) or the [[Ise Grand Shrine#Rebuilding the Shrine|Ise Grand Shrine]] (according to [[Jeffrey Schnapp]]).<ref name="SchnappBattles2014">{{cite book|author1=Jeffrey Schnapp|author2=Matthew Battles|title=Library Beyond the Book |year= 2014|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=978-0-674-72503-4 |pages=66–68|title-link=Library Beyond the Book|author1-link=Jeffrey Schnapp}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/pamphlet/2011/04/18/the-scouring-of-the-white-horse/ |author=Stuart Shieber |title=Scouring of the White Horse |work=Occasional Pamphlet (blog) |publisher=Harvard University |date=April 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141007063906/http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/pamphlet/2011/04/18/the-scouring-of-the-white-horse/ |archive-date=2014-10-07 }}</ref>

====Renderability====

Renderability refers to the continued ability to use and access a digital object while maintaining its inherent significant properties.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dlib.org/dlib/september12/vermaaten/09vermaaten.html |title=Identifying Threats to Successful Digital Preservation: the SPOT Model for Risk Assessment |work=dlib.org |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150110194245/http://www.dlib.org/dlib/september12/vermaaten/09vermaaten.html |archive-date=2015-01-10 }}</ref>

====Physical media obsolescence====
[[Digital obsolescence|Physical media obsolescence]] can occur when access to digital content requires external dependencies that are no longer manufactured, maintained, or supported. External dependencies can refer to [[Digital obsolescence#Types of digital obsolescence|hardware, software, or physical carriers.]] For example, [[Digital Linear Tape|DLT tape]] was used for backups and data preservation, but is no longer used.

====Format obsolescence====
File format obsolescence can occur when adoption of new encoding formats supersedes use of existing formats, or when associated presentation tools are no longer readily available.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.ijdc.net/index.php/ijdc/article/view/76/44 |title=  Defining File Format Obsolescence: A Risky Journey|date=6 August 2008 |volume=3 |issue=1 |pages=89–106 |doi=10.2218/ijdc.v3i1.44 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141014030726/http://www.ijdc.net/index.php/ijdc/article/view/76/44 |archive-date=2014-10-14 |last1=Pearson |first1=David |last2=Webb |first2=Colin |journal= International Journal of Digital Curation|doi-access=free |hdl=1885/47621 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>

While the use of file formats will vary among archival institutions given their capabilities, there is documented acceptance among the field that chosen file formats should be "open, standard, non-proprietary, and well-established" to enable long-term archival use.<ref name=":03">{{Cite web|url=https://siarchives.si.edu/what-we-do/digital-curation/recommended-preservation-formats-electronic-records|title=Recommended Preservation Formats for Electronic Records|last=bradyh|date=2017-04-26|website=Smithsonian Institution Archives|access-date=2019-04-29}}</ref> Factors that should enter consideration when selecting sustainable file formats include disclosure, adoption, transparency, self-documentation, external dependencies, impact of patents, and technical protection mechanisms.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.digitalpreservation.gov/formats/sustain/sustain.shtml |title=Sustainability Factors |work=digitalpreservation.gov |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141013230220/http://www.digitalpreservation.gov/formats/sustain/sustain.shtml |archive-date=2014-10-13 }}</ref> Other considerations for selecting sustainable file formats include "format longevity and maturity, adaptation in relevant professional communities, incorporated information standards, and long-term accessibility of any required viewing software".<ref name=":03"/> For example, the [[Smithsonian Institution Archives]] considers uncompressed [[TIFF]]s to be "a good preservation format for born-digital and digitized still images because of its maturity, wide adaptation in various communities, and thorough documentation".<ref name=":03"/>

Formats proprietary to one software vendor are more likely to be affected by format obsolescence. Well-used standards such as [[Unicode]] and [[JPEG]] are more likely to be readable in future.

====Significant properties====
Significant properties refer to the "essential attributes of a digital object which affect its appearance, behavior, quality and usability" and which "must be preserved over time for the digital object to remain accessible and meaningful."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/programmes/preservation/2008sigprops.aspx |title=The Significant Properties of Digital Objects |website=Jisc |date=April 7, 2008 |access-date=March 28, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141014154001/http://www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/programmes/preservation/2008sigprops.aspx |archive-date=October 14, 2014}}</ref>

"Proper understanding of the significant properties of digital objects is critical to establish best practice approaches to digital preservation. It assists appraisal and selection, processes in which choices are made about which significant properties of digital objects are worth preserving; it helps the development of preservation metadata, the assessment of different preservation strategies and informs future work on developing common standards across the preservation community."<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.ils.unc.edu/callee/sigprops_dlm2002.pdf |title=Significant Properties of Digital Objects: Definitions, Applications, Implications |last1=Hedstrom |first1=Margaret |first2=Christopher A. |last2=Lee |journal=Proceedings of the DLM-Forum 2002 Parallel Session 3 |date=2002 |pages=218–233 |publisher=University of North Carolina: School of Information and Library Science |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070703013435/http://www.ils.unc.edu/callee/sigprops_dlm2002.pdf |archive-date=July 3, 2007}}.</ref>