Developing a Long-Term Preservation Strategy for Archives

Preserving archival collections requires more than short-term interventions or reactive measures. Establishing a long-term archival preservation strategy is essential to ensure that materials remain accessible, stable, and intact for future generations.  

A comprehensive plan helps archivists set priorities, allocate resources effectively, and prepare for emerging preservation challenges. Creating a long-term preservation strategy includes developing policies, conducting risk assessments, planning for reformatting or migration, building institutional support, and integrating digital preservation best practices. 

Developing a Preservation Policy 

A preservation policy provides the foundation for any long-term archival preservation strategy. It articulates an institution’s commitment to the care and longevity of its collections, establishes guiding principles, and outlines procedures for addressing preservation issues. Creating a written policy ensures that preservation efforts are consistent, systematic, and aligned with the institution’s mission and goals. 

When drafting your preservation policy, consider including the following elements: 

• Define which materials are covered by the policy and the overarching goals of the preservation program. Goals might include safeguarding materials’ physical and digital integrity, ensuring long-term accessibility, and promoting best practices in archival storage and conservation. 
• Specify who is responsible for preservation activities, from senior management to front-line staff. Clarify roles related to decision-making, resource allocation, and day-to-day preservation tasks. 
• Establish handling, storage, environmental monitoring, and other preservation activities guidelines. Ensure the policy reflects current industry standards and can be adapted as new techniques and technologies emerge. 
• Include provisions for regularly reviewing and updating the policy to reflect changes in the collection, institutional priorities, or preservation standards. 

Setting Priorities for Long-Term Archival Preservation 

With limited resources and staffing, it is often impossible to address all preservation needs simultaneously. Conducting a risk assessment helps archivists identify the most pressing preservation concerns and allocate resources where they will have the greatest impact. A risk assessment evaluates potential threats to the collection and prioritizes items based on their vulnerability, significance, and use. 

• Assess the physical and chemical stability of items in the collection. Are there materials already showing signs of deterioration, such as brittle paper, fading photographs, or degrading magnetic tapes? 
• Determine the research and historical value of materials. Frequently accessed or highly significant items should be prioritized for preservation to ensure continued availability. 
• Evaluate storage environments to identify areas with poor temperature and humidity control, inadequate pest management, or exposure to pollutants. Materials stored in suboptimal conditions are at greater risk of deterioration. 
• Consider the potential for format obsolescence, particularly for audiovisual and digital media. Older media formats may become unreadable if playback equipment is no longer available, necessitating reformatting or migration. 
• Establish a prioritized list of preservation actions based on the risk assessment results. Focus on items at the highest risk of loss and develop a timeline and budget for addressing these needs. 

Reformatting and Migration: Surrogates and New Formats   

Reformatting and migration are essential to a long-term preservation strategy, particularly for audiovisual and digital collections. These processes involve creating new copies of materials to ensure continued access, either by transferring content to a new format (e.g., digitizing audio cassettes) or moving digital files to updated storage systems. 

Reformatting refers to creating surrogates, such as digitized copies of paper documents or audiovisual recordings. When planning a reformatting project, establish criteria for selecting materials, prioritize items based on risk and significance, and ensure that the new formats meet archival standards. 

Migration involves transferring digital content to new formats, systems, or storage media to prevent data loss due to technological obsolescence. Develop a migration plan that outlines procedures for regularly checking file integrity, updating storage media, and converting file formats as necessary. 

How to Build Institutional Support for Archival Preservation 

Gaining institutional support is critical for the success of a long-term preservation strategy. Preservation activities often require significant investment in time, staffing, and funding. Engaging stakeholders across the institution—such as administration, development staff, and faculty—helps build a compelling case for prioritizing preservation. 

Communicate the importance of preservation to stakeholders and highlight how preservation supports the institution’s mission and enhances research and public engagement. Offer training and informational sessions to staff and administrators to increase awareness of preservation issues.

Identify potential funding sources for preservation activities, such as grants, donations, or partnerships with other organizations. Clearly articulate how additional resources will be used to protect the collection and improve access. 

Collaborate with other departments, such as IT, for digital preservation projects or facilities management for environmental controls. Establishing cross-departmental partnerships can help ensure that preservation efforts are comprehensive and well-supported. 

Integrate Digital Preservation into Your Overall Strategy 

Integrating digital preservation practices into the overall strategy is essential as more collections become digitized or are born-digital. Digital materials face challenges like file corruption, format obsolescence, and data loss. Approach digital preservation with the same level of care and planning as physical preservation. 

A strong digital preservation policy should address several key components. First, it should specify the file formats and standards for digitization and storage to ensure compatibility and longevity.  

Next, it should outline robust backup procedures and a comprehensive disaster recovery plan to safeguard against data loss. Additionally, strategies for monitoring and refreshing storage media must be included to maintain the integrity of digital files over time.  

Finally, the policy should establish metadata standards for documenting the provenance and management of digital files, ensuring that all relevant information is captured for future reference and accessibility. 

Take a Proactive Approach to Long-Term Archival Preservation  

Establishing a long-term preservation strategy is a multifaceted process that requires careful planning, resource allocation, and institutional support. Archivists can safeguard their archival materials and ensure long-term collection care by developing a comprehensive preservation policy, conducting risk assessments, planning for reformatting and migration, and integrating digital preservation practices.  

A proactive approach to preservation protects the physical and digital integrity of archival materials and ensures they remain accessible and meaningful to researchers and the public for years to come. Ultimately, a long-term preservation strategy reinforces your institution’s role as a trusted steward of cultural memory.