Related to the Rosetta stone is the issue of platform independence. The UPF takes for granted the requirement that each object within a digital archive contains a unique identifier. In our first user survey , reliance on a technical staff and expense of maintaining one were specifically mentioned as major concerns. Tight budgets may require that new staff have skill sets that may stretch across domains. As we presented our initiative to groups concerned with preserving analog media, we grew aware of a crippling gap between the language used by archivists and the language adopted by digital communities.
Words casually chosen by digital initiatives often have deep analog roots.
As a result, we wish to preface any Recommended Practice with a glossary of terms that might help bridge the analog-digital domains. National Archives and Records Administration, 1993. We try to stress that the adoption of a UPF framework would benefit all types of digital information. One of the points we try to emphasize in our presentations to archivist groups is that the UPF would help carry on the traditional practices of archivists and librarians by providing a robust, easily expandable framework for digital materials. We also realize that many variations of these practices have evolved, and that no two archives will follow the same guidelines.