With an increase in records being produced digitally, the possibility that a mass of information can be wiped out by a natural disaster or other catastrophe is a prominent threat.
The need to protect and store digital information is imminent, and Auburn has emerged as a leader in the new field of Distributed Digital Preservation, which finds ways to preserve this information.
"Digital preservation is a combination of tools and practices and policies that are aimed at making sure the digital content we are producing today will be around in its original form years from now," said Aaron Trehub, assistant dean for technology and technical services.
Preserving digital information is a complex process, and while there are different strategies, the most common involves multiple copies of files stored in different places.
"Preservation of digital objects is not just a matter of backing things up," said Katherine Skinner, executive director of the Educopia Institute, an organization dedicated to furthering digital preservation efforts.
"You really have to think about the life of the object, what file format it's held in and what kind of repository system it's held in, the type of computer and operating system it was built on--all sorts of qualities of the file have to be taken into consideration before you can save it."
Trehub was a driving force in the founding of Alabama Digital Preservation Network, or ADPnet, which is the first statewide DDP network in the United States.
Auburn University and Trehub were pivotal in creating the first multi-state DDP network, MetaArchive, which has now grown international.
"Digital preservation will continue to gain importance in the world as more and more of our collective knowledge and culture is published in the digital realm," said Bonnie MacEwan, dean of Auburn University Libraries.
Trehub is taking his ambitions global with an international conference aimed at encouraging digital preservation across national lines.
"Aligning National Approaches to Digital Preservation" will be held at the Estonia National Library in Tallin, Estonia May 23-25.
"The goal is to start talking about this in a collaborative way," Trehub said. "To share experience, to share information, to share technical approaches that may be especially effective."
The conference aims to enable international cooperation in the field, create an "International Steering Committee" and will focus on a range of topics including organizational, technical, legal and economic approaches to digital preservation.
Estonia was chosen for the conference for a number of reasons, including Trehub's personal relationship with Estonian president Toomas Hendrik Ilves, whom he met while working as a Soviet specialist for Radio Liberty.
Martin Halbert, former director of digital innovations for Emory University libraries and now dean of the University of North Texas Libraries, was also a key player in planning the conference.
A colleague of Trehub's, Halbert also had personal and professional contacts from doing work in Estonia and helped to arrange and organize the conference.
The birthplace of Skype, Estonia is a fitting place for the conference for its accessibility to the rest of the world, its affordability and its level of technological advancement, described by Trehub as "the Silicon Valley of the Baltic."
"We're very proud of the cutting-edge work Aaron is doing with digital preservation and the organization of the global conference in Estonia," MacEwan said.
Skinner has worked with Trehub for more than a decade and said Auburn and Trehub are some of the leading voices in the field of digital preservation.
"I think that Auburn should be celebrating the fact that it's at the forefront of this work," Skinner said. "I mean, this is a big deal. To be sitting in one of the real transitional spaces and occupying that as a leading voice is something that Auburn should be very, very proud of."
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