Digital
Preservation Statement Notes
Davis, Smith, Starmer, and Walker
June 21, 2002
Digital library initiatives at the University of Tennessee
are committed to close adherence to national standards
for the digitization of materials that become a part of
the library’s permanent collection. The Digital
Library Center (DLC) Steering Committee has adopted a
standard practice that follows current “best practice”
for creating and archiving digital objects. DLC Guidelines
supports the use of the Open Archives Information System
(OAIS), through its use of a records management system
that is designed to produce a “well-formed”
METS (Metadata Encoding and Transmission Standard) record.
The METS framework is a standard developed by the Digital
Library Federation and is maintained by the Library of
Congress. The standard is used for encoding descriptive,
administrative and structural metadata about a digitized
object. In general practice, UT Libraries Digital Production
Centers, closely adheres to creating complete and accurate
METS records where possible.
In relationship to the libraries preservation
mission, the group recognizes three different types of
digital library objects:
- Access-based Digitization – The primary purpose
for digitizing is to provide broader access to the
information object.
- Preservation-based Digitization – The primary
purpose for digitizing is to preserve the content
or artifact from loss due to deterioration.
- AP-based Digitization – Access and preservation
are equally important and both guide the digitization
effort.
Questions to be Addressed
- To what level should the digital library effort
consider preservation policy when considering access-based
digitizing projects? Would current digitizing methods
for access-based projects contribute to the preservation
mission?
- Can the library’s digitization service provide
another option for preserving materials that are deteriorating?
- Does digitization provide assurance for preservation?
To what level? How?
- Can digitizing act as a preservation vehicle for
information objects?
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