"Digital media have a relatively short life expectancy. Preserving digital information for the long term presents many problems, the biggest of which arguably come from changes in coding, formats, software, operating systems and hardware that can render digital material unreadable....
Digital information may be surrounded by technology designed to protect it from unauthorised copying and redistribution, which may also hinder preservation.
For traditional media, libraries acquire and physically own a discrete information object. In the digital world, the model is paying for access to information held remotely. If libraries do not own digital material, they cannot preserve it. Publishers may or may not have a commitment to preserving their own information, depending to an extent on what type of publisher it is and what its mission is....
It is not clear whether copyright legislation and licensed access to digital content threaten the ability of libraries to provide long-term access to that content. The aim of the Copyright and Licensing for Digital Preservation Project, sponsored by the Arts and Humanities Research Board, is to investigate these issues and to suggest ways in which any problems can be overcome. The research is focusing on the UK, but the findings are likely to be of wider interest, and the project is collecting information on the situation in other countries." [Update, via beSpacific]
A traditional function of libraries that we'll lose if we don't start addressing these issues with publishers. Of course, cutting funding for libraries doesn't help. I mean, truly - who do you think is going to do all of these things like bridge the digital divide, teach information literacy, and preserve our culture?
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