Challenges

  1. Technological Change: Developing a sustainable digital preservation model that will respond to technological changes as needed without under- or overestimating the needs imposed by these changes;
  2. Creation of a Development Environment: Developing anOpen Archival Information System (OAIS) compliant model requires a preservation planning environment that will permit program personnel to experiment with technological and procedural changes without risk of damaging deposited content;
  3. Sustainability: Developing a sustainable model that will deal with the technical and management challenges of preserving born-digital content within the constraints of available funding.
  4. Full Engagement in Preservation: Providing a thoughtful balance between access and preservation while being mindful of preservation's core role in maintaining access;
  5. Sustaining the Relationship between the University Library and other Units: Maintaining BDEARS is the joint responsibility of the University Library and other University Units, especially the Faculties and ICT Directorate. Defining, developing, and sustaining this unique relationship between the Library and other Units will ensure this programme's long term stability and success;
  6. Ongoing Monitoring of Submitted Material Types and Formats: As different type of materials are submitted (data sets, complex information objects), monitoring different needs (storage size, metadata, etc) of the materials and maintaining procedures and policies (i.e. Format Support Policy) based on these needs is necessary.