116 · Representative Documents: Policies, Procedures, Guidelines
University of Utah
Digital Preservation Program: Organizational Policy Framework
http://www.lib.utah.edu/pdf/OrganizationalFrameworkFinal2011.pdf
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SECTION A
PURPOSE
The J. Willard Marriott Library (hereafter, Library), in keeping with its mission, serves
as a trusted caretaker of the Library’s collections of enduring value1, including those
in digital format. The Digital Preservation Policy Framework supports this mission and
is the highest level digital preservation policy document at the Library. The
framework makes explicit the Library’s commitment to preserving its digital
collections through a comprehensive digital preservation program for both born-
analog and born-digital collections. The framework reflects the goals defined in the
Library’s SMART goals and contains references to other relevant Library policies and
procedures. The audience for the framework includes Library employees, digital
content contributors, donors, and users.
MANDATE
Although many programs and projects both within and outside the Library make
objects available to users online, digital preservation implies more than making an
object available in a digital format. Digital preservation has been defined by the
American Library Association (ALA) as “policies, strategies, and actions to ensure
access to reformatted and born digital content regardless of the challenges of media
failure and technological change. The goal of digital preservation is the accurate
rendering of authenticated content over time.”
The mandate for digital preservation at the Library is linked to institutional
responsibility, legal obligations, scholarly commitment, contractual obligations and
grants, and membership services (such as Utah Academic Library Consortium (UALC),
Greater Western Library Alliance, Mountain West Digital Library (MWDL), etc).
Special Collections, Information Technology, University Archives and the Institutional
Repository all have missions, whether explicit or implicit, to collect, preserve, and
provide access to the historical collections and institutional and scholarly records they
hold. In some cases analog preservation will not suffice and the digital preservation of
such objects can be inferred.
Additionally, the Library receives grant funding to ensure that specific collections are
digitized and made available to online users and the sustainability and long-term
accessibility of those collections is often required.
The Library also provides services for outside institutions that need items digitized
and made available online. As part of these services, the long–term preservation of
selected materials has been written into many formal agreements.
1 The J. Willard Marriott Library has defined enduring value as unique materials concerning Utah life
and/or history as well as materials created by University faculty or Utah residents that fit the Library’s
collection mission.
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