How do you plan and implement a digital preservation policy and workflow?

1 Define your goals and scope

The first step in planning and implementing a digital preservation policy and workflow is to define your goals and scope. What are the purposes and objectives of your digital library? What are the types and formats of digital content that you want to preserve? How long do you want to preserve them for? Who are the intended users and stakeholders of your digital library? How will you measure and evaluate the success of your digital preservation efforts? These questions will help you clarify your vision, mission, and values, as well as your legal, ethical, and professional responsibilities.

2 Assess your resources and risks

The second step is to assess your resources and risks. What are the current and projected resources that you have or need for digital preservation, such as staff, budget, infrastructure, software, hardware, storage, and network? What are the potential threats and vulnerabilities that could affect your digital preservation activities, such as technical, organizational, environmental, social, and economic factors? How likely and severe are these risks, and how can you mitigate or prevent them? These questions will help you identify your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and challenges, as well as your priorities, constraints, and trade-offs.

3 Establish your standards and guidelines

The third step is to establish your standards and guidelines. What are the best practices and recommendations that you will follow or adapt for digital preservation, such as the OAIS reference model, the PREMIS data dictionary, the ISO 16363 standard, or the NDSA levels of preservation? What are the specific policies and procedures that you will adopt or develop for digital preservation, such as the selection criteria, the preservation actions, the metadata standards, the file formats, the storage options, the access methods, and the quality assurance? These questions will help you define your rules, roles, and responsibilities, as well as your workflows, processes, and tools.

4 Implement your actions and systems

The fourth step is to implement your actions and systems. How will you execute your digital preservation policy and workflow in practice? How will you ingest, store, manage, and provide access to your digital objects? How will you perform preservation actions, such as migration, emulation, normalization, or encapsulation? How will you use systems, such as digital asset management systems, digital preservation systems, or repository software, to support your digital preservation activities? These questions will help you operationalize your plans, strategies, and decisions, as well as your tasks, functions, and services.

5 Monitor and evaluate your outcomes and impacts

The fifth step is to monitor and evaluate your outcomes and impacts. How will you track and measure your digital preservation performance and progress? How will you collect and analyze data and feedback from your digital preservation activities and systems? How will you report and communicate your results and achievements to your users and stakeholders? How will you assess and demonstrate your outcomes and impacts, such as the preservation of authenticity, integrity, reliability, usability, and accessibility of your digital objects? These questions will help you review and improve your practices, processes, and systems, as well as your outputs, outcomes, and impacts.

6 Update and revise your policy and workflow

The sixth and final step is to update and revise your policy and workflow. How will you adapt and respond to changes and challenges in your digital preservation environment? How will you incorporate new developments and innovations in your digital preservation field? How will you update and revise your policy and workflow based on your monitoring and evaluation findings and feedback? How will you ensure the continuity and sustainability of your digital preservation efforts? These questions will help you maintain and enhance your relevance, effectiveness, and efficiency, as well as your vision, mission, and values.