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Category: Communication

Description: Environmental sustainability is an imperative that has engaged the cultural heritage community for many years. This has taken numerous forms, such as reducing environmental impacts from the built environment, disaster planning and adaptation in the face of climate change, and reevaluating purchasing decisions based on products’ environmental impacts. However, the drive toward environmental sustainability has not been thoroughly explored in relation to digital preservation activities. In this lightning talk, the speakers will present a summary of their research on the environmental impact of digital preservation, and argue for a shift in the way that digital preservation activities are evaluated. The authors propose that sustainable practice will come only from critical examination of the underlying motivations and assumptions of digital preservation practice, and not from improvements in technological efficiencies. The speakers will briefly explore the paradigm shift that is needed in three areas of digital preservation practice: appraisal, permanence, and availability.