Digital preservation and its roles in GLAM, a job niche or a transversal knowledge?

Abstract

Digital preservation is a discipline that ensures the perpetual availability and access of digital documents. It is especially relevant in GLAMs, as they increasingly work with large volumes of digital information associated with culture and collective memory. Its application requires a variety of skills, which may be explained in greater or lesser detail in job positions and which are not always technological. In this sense, the Digital Preservation Coalition’s Competency Framework is a tool through which institutions can identify and thereby fill knowledge gaps among their professionals, make new hires, and/or assign roles in digital preservation. Could we be talking about a job niche? About one or several specializations? Are there professionals with these necessary knowledges, or should we incorporate digital preservation into ongoing training?