Long term preservation of digital information in the space field: from theOAIS reference model to practical applications

Long term preservation of digital information poses critical new problems i n all modern society business sectors. The Reference Model for an Open Arch ival Information System, soon to become an ISO standard, provides us with a vocabulary and a set of unifying concepts which can be used to understand the problem as a whole and also to enable communities, which were previousl y completely unknown to each other, to become acquainted and consult togeth er on the joint solutions which may be envisaged. This Model does not const itute an implementation diagram, however, it is a permanent conceptual back ground for all implementations. Now we can use this background as an aid to improve analysis of past difficulties encountered in the preservation of d igital information in the space field. The primary pragmatic rules implemen ted to counteract these difficulties may be described and analyzed in the l ight of the OAIS RM concepts.