Resumo
In this paper, I will attempt to present a new view of the preservation issues facing digital records. Traditionally, people have been concerned with born-digital records, but I will argue that in reality the major sources of digital documents are archived websites and digitised copies of paper records. Similarly, the current view of the risks facing digital records is that they are threatened by changing formats and unstable storage media. However, I will argue that the main threats are poor capture: the risk of loss before records are transferred to the archives and, crucially, the huge volumes of material which will be coming to the archives over the next few years. I will then go on to look at some possible solutions – the need to the develop a digital continuity strategy to ensure the survival of records before they come to the archives and I will look at the essential features of IT systems developed to preserve digital records for the long-term future.
