Preservation Status in the National Library and Archives of I.R. Iran in Comparison with the National Libraries of Canada, the U.S., the U.K. and Australia

Document Type : Research ŮŽ Article

Authors

1 Assistant Professor of Library and Information Science; Alzahra University, Tehran, I.R. Iran

2 Associate Professor of Library and Information Science; Alzahra University, Tehran, I.R. Iran

3 M.A. student in Library and Information Science, Alzahra University, Tehran, I.R. Iran

Abstract

Purpose: This research aimed to study the present status of preservation and conservation of the national digital heritage of Iran kept in the National Library and Archives of I.R. Iran (NLAI) from four aspects: 1) the present status of preservation and conservation of the national heritage of Iran in digital format in the NLAI 2) the efficiencies and facilities of the NLAI for the preservation of digital information 3) the deficiencies and needs of the NLAI in the preservation of digital information 4) suggestions for improving the digital preservation structure.
Design/Methodology/Approach: The two methods applied in this study are library research and descriptive survey. Library research was used to represent the theoretical framework of the research and review the strategies of digital information preservation used in libraries all over the world especially in the National Libraries of Australia, the U.K., Canada, and the Library of Congress (U.S.). The library research method was also applied in designing the checklist used in the present study. The descriptive survey method was used for studying the present status of digital information preservation in the NLAI. This study used checklist as its research tool, which was designed based on the relevant studies and previous checklists and also by considering the needs of national libraries. Using this method the findings were gathered indirectly by interviewing the managers of the Communication Technology Department and the General Administration of Digital Resources of the NLAI. They were also gathered by reviewing the performance reports and documents obtained from the NLAI as well as checking its website.
Findings: The present research showed that digital information preservation is done at the bit level including secure storage and also emphasized backing up. Moreover, in order to improve security measurements and disaster recovery, the necessary measures were taken. The organization has also taken some other professional measurements for digital information preservation including applying METS and Dublin Core and coordination with the Open Archival Information System (OAIS). The NLAI emphasizes secure storage along with back up in digital information preservation, but it has not yet taken any measures in developing a preservation program for reasonable preservation.

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Librarianship and Information Organization Studies
Volume 22, Issue 4 - Serial Number 4
88
March 2012
Pages 162-180

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History

  • Receive Date: 08 March 2011
  • Revise Date: 22 April 2015
  • Accept Date: 11 July 2011

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