Preservation and metadata

Purpose – To outline the various metadata schemes and digital initiatives undertaken by the library community to preserve material in digital formats. Design/methodology/approach – Surveys a number of library metadata initiatives and digital repositories to illustrate that, even in the ever‐changing technological world, preservation is essential. Findings – Digital technology changes at an ever‐increasing rate, which makes it difficult to preserve digital information. Nonetheless, if information digitally created today is to be useful in the future, it is important to save it in many ways, and migrate it to modern formats when possible. Originality/value – This review reminds us that preservation is key if we are to ensure that information created now is still accessible in the future.