GISwatch 2016: Preserving our digital culture for the future

By Unesco PERSIST on 12 December 2016 • ( 0 )

Last week the Global Information Society Watch published GISWatch 2016. GISWatch is their yearly report covering the state of the information society from the perspectives of civil society. This year’s edition contains an article on the challenges of preserving digital culture and heritage and the initiatives, like UNESCO PERSIST, that have been started in recent years to address the need to combat digital amnesia.

Preserving our digital culture for the future: overcoming obstacles through collaboration was written by Julia Brungs and Stephen Wyber from IFLA, the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions. IFLA is one of the partners of the UNESCO PERSIST PROGRAMME.

In the article the authors describe how we need to work together on digital heritage to overcome obstacles, such as an antiquated copy-right system, ever-changing digital technology, and the sheer mass of digital content available, among others. They mention the UNESCO PERSIST guidelines for the selection of digital heritage for long-term preservation. Finally, the authors are calling librarians and policy makers to work together on preserving digital heritage.