With the ever-increasing pace of change in computer hardware and software, in a few years' time that data may be lost forever. The best strategy for long-term preservation of archaeological data is for them to be systematically collected, maintained, and made accessible to users operating in very different computing environments. Data deposited with the ADS will be migrated through changing technology so their intellectual content will be available in the future. Resources in the ADS collection will also be professionally catalogued according to appropriate standards. Information about them will be made accessible through an online catalogue, and the conditions under which data may be distributed to users can be specified by the depositor.
Digital preservation differs from traditional archiving.
Digital archiving is about preserving information regardless of the medium on which that information is stored. The content, structure, and context of the information must be preserved in order for digital records to be migrated from one medium and format to the next. The creation of secure back-up copies does not adequately protect digital data from the degradation of the media on which they are stored. Three additional steps are required for successful digital archiving. Data refreshment is the act of copying information from one medium to the next as the original medium nears the end of its reliable lifespan.