Scope of the Policy
This policy makes provision for long-term digital preservation at the Highland Archive Service (HAS) and ensures a co-ordinated approach to the ingest, preservation and access to digital records, in line with current standards and professional guidance. The policy applies to all digital content held for the purpose of long-term preservation by HAS as well as to metadata associated with this content. It outlines the inter-relationships between all areas of the Archive Service.
Content covered by this policy includes:
• The Highland Council (THC) records – records deposited by THC and managed on their behalf by HAS to meet THC’s legal obligations
• Private deposits – collections deposited by private individuals, organisations and businesses associated with the Highlands
Content not covered by this policy includes:
• Digital content that is not intended for permanent retention, which is instead governed by our Records Management Policy and general ICT policies
Mission Statement
Highland Archive Service, as part of High Life Highland (HLH), enables The Highland Council to fulfil its legal responsibility to preserve and provide access to its public records. Alongside this core function, we are dedicated to collecting, conserving, and making accessible, records that reflect the history and diversity of the Scottish Highlands and its inhabitants. We strive to make these collections as widely accessible as possible in our Archive Centres, through a variety of digital channels, and via an active community engagement programme.
Our mission is to benefit present and future generations, promoting the use of these records in:
• informing local decision-making
• strengthening community and cultural identity
• engaging with communities in ways that enhance learning, representation, inclusion, and equity
• improving health and wellbeing through the study and enjoyment of history
• Making Life Better for everyone, across Highland communities and beyond
Service Objectives
HAS enables THC to fulfil its legal responsibility to preserve and provide access to its public records by:
• Ensuring that digital information and records are retained only for as long as is necessary for legal compliance and administrative needs across THC and HLH
• Co-ordinating the selection and transfer of digital records from THC into an appropriate digital repository contributing to the Council’s corporate memory
• Working with THC’s Information Governance Board (IGB) and HLH’s Senior Management Team to ensure compliance with legislation relating to information and recordkeeping
• Developing and promoting best practice and legal compliance in the creation, use, maintenance and disposal of digital information and records
In addition to this core function HAS collects, conserves, and makes accessible, records that reflect the history and diversity of the Scottish Highlands and its inhabitants by:
• Fulfilling a custodial role in the acquisition and cataloguing of the Highlands’ digital archives
• Preserving the digital records of the Highlands for present and future use
• Promoting and providing opportunities to engage with digital archives that increase representation, inclusion, and equity for everyone through celebrating the documentary heritage of the Highlands
• Providing opportunities for staff and volunteers through work-based learning and training
Statutory and Legal Status
HAS operates within the parameters of:
• Local Government (Scotland) Act 1994
• The Public Records (Scotland) Act 2011 (s.1)
• Data Protection Act 2018 including General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
• Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002
• The Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004
The legal deposit process remains the same as it is for analogue records. A Deposit Agreement Form will be completed for all digital records deposited with HAS and outlining the conditions of deposit and identifying the ownership, access conditions and intellectual property rights relating to the records.
Standards
We make use of current digital preservation standards to guide digital preservation practices. HAS, with the support of THC, has invested in an established digital preservation system which is OAIS (ISO 14721) compliant.
Policy Principles
1. Organisational viability
HAS understands the long-term preservation requirements of digital records and has invested in the technical infrastructure and staff required to preserve its digital collections.
2. Policy and Strategy
Our Digital Process Working Group oversees guidance, procedures, processes and training in relation to digital preservation, ensuring these are regularly reviewed and made available to all archive staff. Our Digital Preservation Strategy means that ingest, management and preservation of a wide-array of digital archives is now possible through a supported digital preservation system. Digital records held on storage media susceptible to obsolescence are being actively managed, and the ingest of born-digital records is subject to detailed workflows.
3. IT capabilities
We will continue to seek investment and provide support for the technical infrastructure required to carry out the preservation of digital records including the use of digital preservation software.
4. Continuous Improvement
We acknowledge digital preservation requires continuous review and have undertaken the Digital Preservation Coalition’s (DPC) Rapid Assessment Model (RAM) to benchmark HAS’s digital preservation capability. We are committed to repeat the RAM assessments regularly to facilitate continuous improvement in our digital preservation activities
5. Community
We are committed to playing an active role in the wider digital preservation community through participation in the Archivists of Scottish Local Authorities Working Group (ASLAWG) sub-group relating to digital preservation as well as participating in initiatives and training provided throughout the sector
6. Acquisition, transfer and ingest
Acquisition of digital records will follow HAS’s Acquisitions Policy. We will accept deposits in most digital formats, but some may require greater consideration due to proprietary and nonstandard formats. HAS accepts the deposit of archives, irrespective of age, in all formats including, DVD/CD Rom, memory sticks and other digital media. We advise depositors against converting formats before deposit as this may remove technical metadata from the files HAS will utilise opensource software to identify file formats, transfer digital material and run fixity checks in preparation for ingest to our digital preservation system Transfer and ingest of digital records will follow the guidance outlined in HAS’s Collections Information Procedural Manual
7. Bitstream preservation
Checksums will be created for all digital records on transfer to HAS. They will continue to be fixity checked at regular intervals to ensure the bit stream remains the same as at the time of deposit Automated fixity checking occurs on ingest into our digital preservation system which also tracks all preservation actions performed on the records following ingest
8. Content preservation
HAS will undertake file format identification at the point of acquisition On ingest to the digital preservation system, the automated active digital preservation process ensures the content is preserved through the generation of preservation and access copies of the records. The process provides an audit trail of preservation actions to ensure the content maintains its authenticity and integrity, and is accessible, secure and usable over time
9. Metadata management
To support the authenticity of digital records, technical metadata will be captured at the point of acquisition, and we will work with depositors to generate descriptive metadata The relationship between the digital record and its metadata will be maintained upon ingest to the digital preservation system through the automatic application of a Universal Unique Identifier
10. Discovery and access
Digital records will be made available for access once fully catalogued and finding aids will be produced to facilitate this. Access to digital records will be provided through the Public Access Computers in the searchrooms or through our remote enquiry service. In the longer term, the option to access digital records via the digital preservation system’s online public portal will be explored
11. Service sustainability
HAS enables THC to meet their statutory obligations to make proper arrangements for the preservation and management of their records. Funding for the digital preservation system utilised by HAS is sourced from THC’s IGB, with a commitment to fund the system initially for three years up until 2027. We regularly report on digital preservation matters to IGB, and it is expected that funding will continue beyond 2027 to ensure THC’s continued legal compliance in relation to the digital preservation of its records
12. Environmental Sustainability
We will consider environmental sustainability as part of our approach to digital preservation and the procurement of resources used to manage digital content by:
- managing digital content in line with the Acquisitions Policy and Records Management Policy to acquire and preserve digital content identified for permanent preservation and the Appraisal Policy to ensure that our digital footprint is reduced by not retaining unnecessary records
- continued use of dedicated digital preservation systems which acknowledge and work to reduce the environmental impact of digital preservation
Related Documents
The digital preservation policy should be read in conjunction with the following Highland Archive Service policies and other documents:
• Collections Management Policy
• Collections Development Policy
• Acquisition Policy
• Access Policy
• Collections Care and Preservation Policy
• Collections Information Procedural Manual
• Records Management Policy
Policy Review Schedule
This policy is issued in March 2025 and will be reviewed and updated as necessary every three years or earlier if a response is needed to any changes in legislation.
