The State of Technology for Digital Archiving

Abstract: The Windsor Study Group on Digital Archiving was commissioned to recommend strategies, policies, and technologies necessary for ensuring the integrity and longevity of electronic publications. The goal of this work is to inform institutions of the challenges and opportunities faced by information stewards in fulfilling their mission of guaranteeing a permanent and authoritative scholarly record in the digital age. This white paper focuses specifically on the technological dimensions of digital archiving. It provides an analysis of the current state of technologies as well as a forecast of how digital archive systems are likely to evolve over the next decade. The thesis of this white paper is that technology does not present a barrier to long term digital archiving, but instead presents an opportunity to harness the current and future power of these technologies to create the architectural underpinnings of a comprehensive digital archiving strategy.