Adoption and Implementation of Digital Preservation Strategies by Academic Libraries in South Africa

Abstract

The growing number of digital devices has led to the creation of many digital resources within academic libraries. Without proper protection, there is a risk that these digital resources can neither be retrieved from old storage media nor be rendered from old file formats. As a result, academic libraries have recognised a need for long-term preservation of their fast growing number of digital resources. However, preserving digital content over a long period has been difficult because both technology and relevant organisational context change over time. This underscores the need to examine the adoption of digital preservation strategies in academic libraries in South Africa. A quantitative research approach was used, underpinned by a survey research design. The findings revealed that migration, bit preservation, replication and a risk management approach were the most widely used preservation strategies within academic libraries in South Africa. The study observed that there are only a few digital preservation studies that have been devoted to developing strategies to ensure long-term accessibility of digital resources in academic libraries in South Africa. This raises a concern and the researchers are of the opinion that academic libraries can overcome digital preservation problems if proper strategies are put in place. The study proposes a digital preservation strategy for academic libraries that is mapped with international preservation standards and certification tools.