MLS Digital Libraries and Preservation 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the primary purpose of digital preservation in library and information science?
- To ensure long-term access to digital materials as technology changes (Correct answer)
- To reduce storage costs for library collections
- To convert physical materials into digital surrogate formats
- To improve search engine indexing of library resources
Correct answer: To ensure long-term access to digital materials as technology changes
Digital preservation ensures that digital content remains accessible, authentic, and usable over time, even as the hardware and software needed to render it becomes obsolete.
Question 2: Which file format is most recommended for long-term digital preservation of raster images?
- JPEG
- PNG
- TIFF (Correct answer)
- BMP
Correct answer: TIFF
TIFF (Tagged Image File Format) is preferred for archival image preservation because it is uncompressed (lossless), widely supported, and maintains full image quality upon repeated saving.
Question 3: What does OAIS stand for in the context of digital preservation?
- Open Archival Information System (Correct answer)
- Online Access and Indexing Standard
- Organized Archive and Information Storage
- Open Access Information Standards
Correct answer: Open Archival Information System
OAIS (Open Archival Information System) is ISO standard 14721, which provides the foundational reference model for digital preservation systems worldwide.
Question 4: What is 'bit rot' in digital preservation terminology?
- The gradual corruption of digital data due to physical or logical errors over time (Correct answer)
- A virus that corrupts digital files stored on networked servers
- The process of converting analog media to digital formats
- A method for compressing large digital files for storage efficiency
Correct answer: The gradual corruption of digital data due to physical or logical errors over time
Bit rot refers to the gradual degradation or corruption of digital data that can occur due to storage medium decay, hardware failures, or software errors over time.
Question 5: Which checksum algorithm is most commonly recommended in digital preservation for verifying file integrity?
- MD4
- SHA-256 (Correct answer)
- CRC16
- Base64
Correct answer: SHA-256
SHA-256 is widely used in digital preservation for fixity checking because it provides strong cryptographic verification and reliably detects any changes to files.
Question 6: What is the digital preservation strategy of 'emulation'?
- Creating an environment that mimics original hardware/software to run obsolete digital objects (Correct answer)
- Converting old file formats into current standardized formats
- Making multiple copies of digital files in different geographic locations
- Scanning physical documents to create high-resolution digital surrogates
Correct answer: Creating an environment that mimics original hardware/software to run obsolete digital objects
Emulation recreates the original computing environment—hardware and software—needed to access digital objects without altering the original files themselves.
Question 7: Which metadata schema was specifically developed to support documentation of digital preservation processes?
- Dublin Core
- MARC 21
- PREMIS (Correct answer)
- EAD
Correct answer: PREMIS
PREMIS (Preservation Metadata: Implementation Strategies) is the international standard for metadata that supports the long-term preservation and usability of digital objects.
