When people hear the term digital preservation, they often think about scanning photographs, digitising newspapers, or converting old film, videos and audio tapes into digital files.
But that's only the first step.
At the State Library of South Australia, we know that creating a digital copy doesn't mean a story has been preserved. A photograph still needs its description. An oral history recording still needs the information that tells us who is speaking and why their story matters.
Without that context, even the most carefully digitised collection can become difficult to find, understand or use.
That's why digital preservation is really about access.
Every day, libraries, archives and cultural institutions work behind the scenes to ensure digital collections remain available and discoverable as technology changes. We maintain metadata, catalogue records and preservation systems so that today's digital collections can still be accessed by researchers, students, family historians and community members tomorrow.
As more digitised audiovisual recordings are ingested into our digital preservation system, Preservica, the opportunities for access continue to grow. Alongside established access services available through our catalogue, the State Library is developing new ways for people to discover and access digitised collections onsite, helping connect more South Australians with their stories and history.
When searching our Catalogue, digitised audiovisual recordings available for onsite access will include a link to the AV file in the catalogue record.
This year's World Digital Preservation Day theme, Save our Stories (SOS): Our Digital Heritage in Danger, is a reminder that digital heritage isn't only at risk when files are lost. Sometimes the greater risk is that valuable stories become hidden because the information and systems needed to access them are no longer there.
Every photograph, newspaper, film and audio recording in our collections tells part of South Australia's story. Digital preservation helps ensure those stories remain discoverable, meaningful and accessible for future generations.
Because preserving digital heritage isn't just about saving files.
It's about making sure people can continue to find, connect with and learn from the stories they contain.
