Executive Guide on Digital Preservation for Museums and Galleries

Museums and galleries care for and curate objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance, providing curatorial context for their collections. Whilst traditionally collectors at their core, many of these institutions will be more used to collecting physical rather than digital objects, so an organizational culture supportive of digital preservation is critical.

You may also want to check Archives and Libraries specific Risks.

What is Digital Preservation?

Having the information required to install or perform an artwork according to an artist’s concept and specifications, technological context and historical accuracy.
Having the information required to curate and display a digital object or collection in a way that provides an accurate and meaningful depiction of the object(s) and our cultural heritage.

What are the Risks of not preserving digital materials?

Risks	Possible Consequences	Key Motivators
Preservation processes do not adequately consider rendering and display.	Unable to correctly render files as originally intended Additional work required to address issues, including consultation with experts/the artist Loss of reputation Loss of funding	Authenticity Costs Reputation Revenue
Digital objects/collections are not captured in a suitable preservation system	Digital objects are unusable and un-displayable Loss of context/documentation Loss of reputation Loss of funding	Authenticity Corporate/Cultural Memory Reputation Revenue
Absence of appropriately skilled and invested people responsible for digital preservation	Incorrect/inadequate preservation Preservation does not occur Loss of ability to access/render digital objects Loss of context/documentation Loss of reputation Loss of funding	Authenticity Business Continuity Corporate/Cultural Memory Costs Reputation Revenue
Absence of a documented workflow for the creation/acquisition and then maintenance of digital files	Incorrect/inadequate preservation Preservation does not occur Loss of ability to access/render digital objects Loss of context/documentation Loss of reputation Loss of funding	Authenticity Business Continuity Corporate/Cultural Memory Costs Reputation Revenue

What Opportunities do preserved digital materials create?

Digital Preservation can…	Key Motivators
demonstrate the fulfilment of a legal obligation to display and therefore preserve collection objects in perpetuity	Accountability Corporate/Cultural Memory
prevent interruptions to service and loss of earnings through resilient processes and sustained access to information which enable hardware and software updates, upgrades, obsolescence, failures and stoppages	Business Continuity Costs
enable tracking of unauthorized changes, copies and access leading to greater trust and assurance	Authenticity Reputation Security
enable robust and trusted iterations and audit trails, review and update to remain in line with the latest standards and best practices, safeguarding organizational reputation.	Accountability Compliance Reputation
create efficiencies in workflow and processes, as well as potentially creating income through data re-use	Business Continuity Revenue
maintain the cultural and monetary value of the collection, by sustaining access to it	Corporate/Cultural Memory Reputation
instil confidence in the ability to preserve digital collections	Accountability Reputation
cut the costs of viewing rooms open to the public by moving some collections into deep storage	Costs Technology
help visitors to gain a deeper understanding of our cultural heritage creating new learning experiences with existing data	Corporate/Cultural Memory
reach new audiences by creating new learning experiences with existing data	Corporate/Cultural Memory
ensure the collection remains relevant and accessible to generations to come by creating digital copies	Corporate/Cultural Memory
be an investment in a high-quality service which enhances audience experience	Reputation

What do Museums and Galleries need to enable Digital Preservation?

All organisations require the same things to enable effective digital preservation.

Go to Digital Preservation Needs