Tutorial: Planning your preservation project

Archives tend to take a two level approach to preservation planning. First, they define their high-level preservation strategy. This defines what needs to be done, when it needs to be done by and how much it will cost in total. Secondly, they consider the operational aspects of preservation, by focusing on the details of how preservation will be done on a day-to-day basis. This is the actual preservation plan.

The strategy may say ‘conserve another 10 years and then review’, or it may say ‘make new master copy’. The strategy may even say ‘make new digital master copy’.  But it is the plan that defines what the conservation method will be. The real complication comes in deciding what exact method will be used. 

This tutorial guides you through the steps necessary to create a concrete plan for your preservation project, taking into account the balance between cost, quality, time and volume.