Technological support levels
Technological support levels distinguish the broad levels of support effort the Libraries will use to address its stated objectives. Support effort and preservation strategy is guided by a number of appraisal criteria, including uniqueness, relative risk of loss, and feasibility/cost of preservation. Digital preservation staff, along with content experts, who understand the enduring value of content, in consultation with record analysts and system administrators, make these decisions. These are also documented in the Preservation Framework document.
Fundamental support level
Reasonable effort will be made to ensure long-term preservation for digital objects under this stewardship level. A moderate level of available resources (staff, technologies, funding) will be considered for use. Treatment strategies will be selected from widely available best practices and may include fixity, validation, geographic replication, and others as developed.
Advanced support level
All effort will be made to ensure long-term preservation for digital objects identified at this level. A high level of available resources (staff, technologies, funding) will be considered for use. In addition to the strategies under the fundamental support level, strategies here may also include migration, emulation, normalization, and the development of material-specific solutions.
Implementation activities
The University of Minnesota Libraries uses a variety of preservation actions based on general preservation strategies to be able to preserve digital materials for the long-term. The Libraries’ Digital Preservation Framework document describes two technological support levels. These levels assume a continuum of actions from less to more as the support level increases. This page discusses the continuum of preservation actions performed by the Libraries.
The implementation activities describe actions the Libraries take with digital materials around storage, security, file integrity, interoperability over time, and chain of custody of materials. Each activity is done to help mitigate a specific risk.
Fundamental preservation actions
All materials receive the following:
Preservation Element | Actions Taken | Risks Mitigated |
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Storage |
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Integrity |
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Security |
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Interpretability over time |
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Succession |
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Advanced preservation actions
In addition, some materials receive:
Preservation Element | Actions Taken | Risks Mitigated |
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Storage |
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Integrity |
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Interoperability |
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Contact us
If you have any questions about digital preservation at the University of Minnesota Libraries please contact the digital preservation team at lib-dp@umn.edu and we will be happy to assist you.