Publications

The NDSA Interest and Working Groups produce reports, survey outcomes, and articles based off of their interests and work. The majority of these are made available on the NDSA OSF Repository .

New publications are announced on the NDSA Blog, while links to a few of the NDSA’s main products such as the Levels of Digital Preservation and the NDSA Agenda are provided below.

Signature Publications

Levels of Digital Preservation

NDSA Agenda

  • Previously called the National Agenda, the NDSA Agenda integrates the persepctive of dozens of experts and hundreds of institutions to provide funders and executive decision‐makers insight into emerging technological trends, gaps in digital stewardship capacity, and key areas for funding, research and development to ensure that today’s valuable digital content remains accessible and comprehensible in the future, supporting a thriving economy, a robust democracy, and a rich cultural heritage.
  • 2020 NDSA Agenda Publication (OSF Repository )
  • The NDSA Agenda Working Group page provides background information on the work over the years and links to all available previous versions.

Highlighted Publication

2023 Storage Infrastructure Survey

The 2023 Storage Infrastucture survey was was based off of previous surveys to provide long-term analysis while also allowing further reflections upon changes in the field. The survey received 138 complete responses, with most coming from the United States, but it did have a global reach across 14 countries. The 2023 survey also incorporated two new questions relating to storage and environmental impact.

Selected Publications

Good Migrations: A Checklist for Migrating Your Digital Preservation Infrastructure

  • A checklist (PDF) written by the NDSA Good Migrations Working Group that provides guidance for practitioners migrating all or components of their infrastructure.

Fixity Survey Reports

  • The 2021 report (PDF) written by the Fixity Working Group follows up on the 2017 report (PDF) and analyzes trends and evolving practices around fixity.

  • The 2017 report (PDF, 977 KB) written by the Fixity Working Group that addresses the “… clear need for use-case driven examples of best practices for fixity in particular system designs and configurations established to meet particular preservation requirements” raised in the 2015 NDSA National Agenda.

“Geospatial Data Stewardship: Key Online Resources”

  • A report (PDF) of the Geospatial Content Team that lists online resources that highlight key concepts and practices supporting the preservation and stewardship of digital geospatial data and information. The resources offer a starting point to methods, tools and approaches across the information lifecycle to assist in understanding current best practices in the stewardship of geospatial data. These resources will be regularly updated online at the “Geospatial Data Stewardship: Key Online Resources” web page.

“The Benefits and Risks of the PDF/A-3 File Format for Archival Institutions”

  • A report (pdf) created by the Standards and Practices Working Group that takes a measured look at the costs and benefits of the widespread use of the PDF/A-3 format, especially as it effects content arriving in collecting institutions. It provides background on the technical development of the specification, identifies specific scenarios under which the format might be used and suggests policy prescriptions for collecting institutions to consider. More information in a 2/20/14 blog post on the Signal.

Issues in the Appraisal and Selection of Geospatial Data

  • A report (PDF, 554 KB) of the Geospatial Content Team of the Content Working Group considering both appraisal and selection activities as they effect decisions defining geospatial content of enduring value to the nation.

Staffing for Effective Digital Preservation

  • A 2021 report (PDF) created by the Staffing Survey Working Group, sharing what the group learned by surveying 269 individuals who responded to questions about the organization as well as about individuals. The 2021 survey builds on and expands beyond previous iterations, asking why and how digital preservation is happening and who is doing the work.

  • A 2017 report (PDF, 1.9 MB) created by the Staffing Survey Working Group, sharing what the group learned by surveying 133 institutions, including information on organization type and size, information on how organizations view their digital preservation organization and staffing situation, and ideas about staffing qualifications and training needs. The report also compares the survey results to the results of the 2012 Staffing Survey.

  • A 2013 report (PDF, 1.8 MB) created by the Standards and Practices Working Group, sharing what the group learned by surveying 85 institutions with a mandate to preserve digital content about how they staffed and organized their preservation functions. The poster (PDF, 1.2 MB) describing this survey won second place at iPRES 2012 More information in a 12/16/13 blog post on the Signal.

Storage Infrastructure Survey Reports

Web Archiving Surveys

  • This 2022 report (PDF, 1.8 MB) as based off of previous surveys to provide long-term analysis while also allowing further reflections upon changes in the field. Accounting for the growth of the web archiving field and its impact, the 2022 Working Group developed a survey guided by the following questions: Why archive the web?; What do cultural heritage workers collect through web archiving tools; What infrastructure do practitioners need to support web archiving efforts?; What does web archiving look like at different types of institutions in the United States and abroad? All related materials can be found in the linked OSF page.

  • This report (PDF, 1.4 MB) on the results of the 2017 survey of U.S. organizations engaged in web archiving or in the process of planning a web archive was published in October 2018. The goal of the survey was to better understand the landscape of web archiving activities in the United States, including identifying the organizations or individuals involved, the types of web content being preserved, the tools and services being used, and the types of access being provided. A list of the survey questions is available here (PDF, 442 KB).

  • The report (PDF, 761 KB) on the results of the Winter 2016 survey of U.S. organizations engaged in web archiving or in the process of planning a web archive was published in Spring 2017. The goal of the survey was to better understand the landscape of web archiving activities in the United States, including identifying the organizations or individuals involved, the types of web content being preserved, the tools and services being used, and the types of access being provided. A list of the survey questions is available here (PDF, 136 KB).

  • The report (PDF, 442 KB) on the results of the Fall 2011 survey of U.S. organizations engaged in web archiving or in the process of planning a web archive was published in Fall 2013. The goal of the survey was to better understand the landscape of web archiving activities in the United States, including identifying the organizations or individuals involved, the types of web content being preserved, the tools and services being used, and the types of access being provided. A list of the survey questions is available here (PDF, 272 KB).

  • A report (PDF, 1010 KB) on the results of the Fall 2013 survey of U.S. organizations engaged in web archiving or in the process of planning a web archive was published in Fall 2014. While this survey documents the current state of U.S. web archiving initiatives, comparison with the results of the 2011-2012 survey enables an analysis of emerging trends. This report therefore describes the current state of the field, tracks the evolution of the field over the last few years, and forecasts future activities and developments. A list of the survey questions is available here (PDF, 196 KB).