NARA: National Archives Updates Digital Preservation Framework

From a National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) Announcement:

Last week the National Archives released a major update to its Digital Preservation Framework, an open resource and data set on GitHub that provides guidance and risk assessments for digital file formats.

The release marks a significant update to the Framework, adding new and revised questions to address additional risk factors to digital formats that have emerged since its initial release four years ago. The updated Framework is more user friendly and more transparent about the National Archives’ digital preservation process and its electronic holdings.

“This major update will change the way that we evaluate risk to digital file formats and make our decision-making process more transparent to the public,” Senior Digital Preservation Specialist Hannah Wang said. “The Framework is not a static resource. Digital Preservation staff are constantly doing research and making updates to the Framework to represent the most up-to-date information about file formats in our holdings.”

[Clip]

Since its debut, the Framework has become a widely consulted resource for the digital preservation community around the globe. The Framework was additionally released as Linked Open Data in 2022.

“The work that the National Archives has done to create and populate the matrix is a tremendous resource for the whole community,” said Stephen Abrams, Head of Digital Preservation at Harvard Library. “We really appreciate the effort that has gone into this initiative and the National Archives’ openness in providing it to others.”

[Clip]

“As we move towards an era of fully electronic recordkeeping, it is important to focus on the preservation risks posed to digital file formats and how we can mitigate these risks,” Deputy Archivist of the United States William J. Bosanko said. “The National Archives is actively engaged in digital preservation and ongoing research to make sure that the electronic records in our custody endure into the future.”

Learn More, Read the Complete Announcement

Filed under: Archives and Special Collections, Data Files, Digital Preservation, Libraries, News, Preservation