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Digital Preservation

Digital preservation at NYU Abu Dhabi Library is informed by both the vision and mission of NYU Abu Dhabi at large and the mission and values of NYU Libraries as a global organization. Digital preservation is also informed by the information professions at large. The following statement acknowledges the importance of articulating and defining shared understandings of work happening across Library departments and outlines priorities and areas involved in leading a digital preservation program on the NYU Abu Dhabi campus. This statement is also a way for NYU Abu Dhabi Library to emphasize that digital preservation is important and a central priority and service we provide to the University and our global network. 

Our Charge

The NYU Abu Dhabi Library is committed to taking a lead role in preserving knowledge, scholarship, heritage and history – primarily through its local Archives and Special Collections program, which exists to provide access to rare and unique primary source materials that support the teaching and research needs of students and faculty, and promote scholarship and interest in the history of the UAE, the Gulf, the Arabian Peninsula, the wider region, and the University’s history. Our charge is situated in the context of being an institution that is both part of the NYU global network and in and of Abu Dhabi, and for the World. 

Digital preservation is challenging due to the risk and urgency around potential technological obsolescence, leading to the risk of inaccessibility or loss of records and archives. As technologies and digital preservation processes evolve in the field, so too will we assess our local approaches and evolve and change our platforms and processes as necessary. Additionally, digital preservation extends the reach of our physical collections to scholars inside and outside the NYUAD community.

Our Commitment

Digital preservation is a program, not a project, at NYU Abu Dhabi. The NYUAD Library is committed to providing resources that include staff, technology, time, infrastructure, expertise, and budget. The continued allocation of university resources toward the digital preservation program will allow us to continue preserving collections in perpetuity. 

The NYUAD Library intends to preserve its digital collections with the same level of commitment as its physical collections. Since this work is not limited to physical or analog formats, the Library’s mission includes preserving materials in both native born-digital formats as well as digitized surrogates of analog materials. 

Our Responsibility 

Digital preservation is not a promise of "forever," as stated in NYU Libraries' own digital preservation policy statement. Our aim is to utilize present-day technologies and processes to extend the life of materials for as long as possible. Digital preservation is also more than simply storing digital objects and resources. It requires employment of processes and standards, and it is the responsibility of the digital preservation team to stay current in these processes and standards, while at the same time, it may be necessary to consult and collaborate with external partners. 

The NYUAD Library digital preservation team includes a variety of specialists and experts:

  • Library Administration and Strategy: Executive Director, Associate Director
  • Archives and Special Collections (ASC): Head of ASC, NYUAD Archivist
  • Digitization Program and Digital Preservation Leadership: Digital Content Specialist
  • NYUAD Library Staff: Responsible for compliance with this statement
  • External Partners: NYUAD/NYU IT are partners, especially in the sustainability of technical infrastructure

The digital preservation policy will be reviewed regularly against University and Library missions and goals to ensure that it continues to support the core work of the institution. 

Our Scope

Collections identified for digital preservation at NYU Abu Dhabi include both born-digital and digitized copies of analog materials. Identified materials should fall within the overarching collection scope of Archives and Special Collections. These materials include primary and secondary sources acquired to support the teaching and research needs of the campus, to build an archival collection of institutional history (University Archives), and to provide access to our specialized collections for our remote international scholars. The goal is not to digitize every source or object in our holdings.

Within the scope of our mission and collections, we prioritize digital preservation according to a set of transparent criteria and priorities: 

  • Heavily used collections: Collections for which there are well-defined anticipated uses for the materials in digital format and evidence of past use of the materials in their original formats. This may mean digital reformatting and preservation of only some parts of analog collections. 
  • Value for research: Priority is given to materials with significant intrinsic value because they represent the unique holdings and subject strengths of ASC and NYUAD Library. Other high-priority collections support the long-term scholarly interests of the NYUAD community and documentation of the history of NYUAD itself.
  • Items difficult to access in their current format or at risk of deterioration: Digitization of rare and/or fragile items can protect them from repeated handling. However, fragile items will be evaluated prior to digitization and will not be put at risk to digitize. Other items that are difficult to access include obscure formats and audio and visual formats that may not be accessible without digitization. 
  • Disaster Preparedness: Materials may be prioritized for digitization and digital preservation to preserve the informational content of unique primary sources in the event of natural disasters or other forms of destruction.
  • Copyright Acknowledgement: Most archival and special collections content requires consideration of copyright. Collections prioritized for digitization and digital preservation are either in the public domain or have a lower risk of copyright infringement.

Out of Scope for this policy are:

  • Research data and research records that have not been accessioned by ASC and are more appropriate for another type of institutional repository.
  • University records that have not been accessioned by ASC.
  • Commercial or open-access digital content that the Library does not manage and where the Library has only access rights. 
  • Materials that are digitized on demand to meet reference requests may not fit into digital preservation priorities. 

Digital preservation curators will regularly assess priorities. 

Our Values

In the work of digital preservation, we value collaboration, transparency, an iterative approach, and accessibility. We commit to these values while also recognizing that materials will be as open as possible and only restricted when necessary. The Library is committed to providing access to digital materials while respecting and upholding the intellectual property rights of authors and obtaining prior consent when the creator’s identity is known. We aim to understand our global audience and consider, in the daily work of digital preservation, our broad user community and the preservation and access needs of the collections within the context of being both part of the United Arab Emirates and part of the NYU global network. 

Our values are also informed by the larger digital preservation professional community and the importance of shared knowledge.

Our Stewardship

Being good stewards of preserved digital collections involves the following: 

  • Investing in a technical infrastructure that is sustainable and supports digital preservation work.
  • A commitment to having dedicated digital preservation staff with the required expertise to support digital preservation work and to their continued professional development. 
  • Engagement in systematic planning and strategy that includes regularly assessing digital materials to understand and mitigate risk (such as loss of accessibility and technical obsolescence).
  • A commitment to ensuring the authenticity of preserved materials.
  • A commitment to building a literacy and knowledge base for digital preservation and our processes.
  • A commitment to providing access to digital materials while respecting and upholding the intellectual property rights of authors.

Operating Principles

NYU Abu Dhabi endeavors to ensure that digital objects, either born-digital or digitized content, will remain robust in both bitstream and logical preservation. By combining internal storage solutions, workflows, and external cloud-based systems that conform to ISO 14721 (the Open Archival Information System reference model) and align with ISO 16363 standards (Certification of Trustworthy Digital Repositories). Digital objects will be preserved and migrated as formats become obsolete, ensuring long-term accessibility and mitigating digital obsolescence.

  • File fixity values will be calculated at the earliest opportunity to ensure file transfers can be validated throughout these processes and workflows.
  • Where possible, the utilisation of robust backup strategies, such as the 3-2-1 rule, will be implemented, whilst being mindful of the implications to the environmental impact of large data storage and digital sustainability.

Technical, preservation, and descriptive metadata will be gathered and aligned with the files utilizing the appropriate metadata schemas that both meet the collections’ requirements and ensure compliance with established standards and best practices.  

The Library commits to maintaining safe and secure hardware and software dedicated to Digital Preservation work. We provide isolated, non-networked machines for specific tasks to mitigate risks to campus network infrastructure and ensure access is only granted to digital preservation staff.