The young field of Digital preservation.

Title:
Digital Defense. By: Caplan, Priscilla, American Libraries, 00029769, May2008, Vol. 39, Issue 5
Database:
Academic Search Premier
Retrieved June 6, 2008 from http://web.ebscohost.com.proxy.usf.edu/ehost/detail?vid=3&hid=9&sid=d962711c-f3c4-4dee-8fc3-

This article describes what digital preservation is and what measures are taken to ensure that our “digital cultural heritage” is preserved. Caplan describes Digital preservation as, “a set of activities aimed at ensuring access to digital materials over time.” She goes on to say that “materials to be preserved must be assessed, selected, and brought under the control of the custodial institution. Digital files must be protected against unauthorized changes, and physical storage media must be monitored to avoid deterioration and obsolescence. Finally, actions must be taken to ensure that digital materials remain usable (displayable, playable) as today's file formats become obsolete over time.”
The article really articulates how exciting and new Digital preservation is. The author describes the field of Digital Preservation as, “heavily dependent on research and experimentation. It is a fast-moving area that advances rapidly but as yet has few exemplars. It may be one of the most interesting areas ever to emerge in the domain of information science.”
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Article : Digitizing for Access and Preservation Strategies of the Library of Congress by Deanna B.Marcum

This article gives a good overview of the history leading up to digitization practices today. The author says that the Library of Congress,"will continue to digitize as much materials as we can. And we take advantage of the Internet for making our resources available worldwide...Additionally, we will take advantage of digitization to help us meet preservation needs. We will recognize that providing access to digital copies enables us to reduce use of, and thus preserve longer,our fragile originals." (2007, p. 9)

http://www.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/viewArticle/1924/1806

Marcum, D.B.(2007). "Digitizing for access and preservation strategies of the Library of Congress" First Monday Vol. 12 No. 7