Digital Preservation

Image of the first file preserved in the DRS, deposited October 23, 2000.
This image was adapted from the first file deposited for preservation to the DRS.

 

Digital Preservation at Harvard Library

The core teaching and research missions of Harvard University are increasingly dependent upon digital content. Digital materials are inherently fragile and dependent for their long-range viability on technologies that change continuously. One of the key challenges of the twenty-first century is how to preserve the usefulness of this digital content for future generations of scholars.

In response to these challenges, Harvard Library developed the Digital Repository Service (DRS) in 1999. In 2008, a more formal digital preservation program was established, building on years of digital preservation projects and initiatives conducted at Harvard University.