Preserving the Digital: The National Model and the International Context

Abstract

The article analyses the digital preservation with specific reference to the archival context and to the Italian legislative framework. The rich literature on the sector cannot be deeply investigated in this article, but some contradictions of the Italian model are here considered with specific reference to the lack of consistency of the concept of digital preservation in the legislation and the limited attention paid by the legislation to the role of the archival institutions. A final template lists and compares the main requirements for a correct preservation system to the models applied in Europe, North America and Italy.