Digital Preservation Practices and Challenges at University Archives in the United States

ABSTRACT University archives conduct digital preservation to provide access to their valuable digital materials. This comparative study explores digital preservation practices and challenges encountered at doctoral universities with a very high research activity (R1), doctoral universities with a high research activity (R2), and doctoral/professional universities (D/PU) in the United States that were listed on the 2021 edition of the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. A total of 141 archivists at these institutions completed an online survey about the important aspects of digital preservation including staffing, digital preservation systems and tools, National Digital Stewardship Alliance (NDSA) assessment, funding, infrastructure, and collaboration. Statistical analyses reveal some differences across the archives examined in many of the digital preservation aspects such as staffing, systems and tools, and financial needs. Staffing and funding are the most problematic digital preservation challenges facing university archives. Based on the findings of this study, the authors address key questions for future research.