Data curation preservation issues (Organisation)

 

Data curation preservation issues (Organisation)

Data preservation forms a significant component of data curation. It involves the implementation of the practices and measures that enable data to remain accessible, accurate, and usable over time. According to Hazela et al, (2022), the implementation of preservation measures to data plays a crucial role in promoting integrity as well as the authenticity of the data.  It further involves implementing strategies that prevent loss or damage of data from human or non-human threats (Subaveerapandiyan  & Maurya, 2022). These threats include: unauthorised access, alteration, software failure, hardware failure, cyberattacks, or natural disasters (Ahmad & Rafiq, 2023). This ensures that data could be reliably accessed and used for future research, analysis, and decision-making.

An organisation needs to put in place measures and strategies that could promote data curation, as well as preservation. These strategies need to be developed in line with the recommended practices as well as standards for records management.

 

Formulating organisational data preservation policy

A Preservation Policy involves developing strategies and guidelines supporting the organisation in preserving data. The policy requires clearly stating what needs to be preserved, how the data should be preserved, the purpose for preserving data and the length for which data needs to be preserved. Additionally, the preservation policy clarifies the responsibilities of all personnel. This allows easy monitoring of the practices involved in the preservation of data.

Well trained personnel

Preservation of data requires the availability of personnel with advanced expertise in data curation as well as preservation. Organisations require recruiting individuals, such as preservation officers, data security officers and managers whose responsibilities may focus on ensuring that data is well preserved and remains usable for a long period of time (Choudhury, 2017). Well-trained and experienced personnel would help an organisation achieve its goals by ensuring that data is well managed, secure and used for its intended purpose. In an organisation, the staff with ICT expertise would be able to effectively upgrade the software to prevent loss of data due to technological obsolescence.

Organisations further need to develop initiatives aimed at enhancing knowledge and expertise among the staff in data management. This may be achieved through the implementation of training programs, such as in-house training and other professional development programs. According to VandeCreek et al (2026), professional development programs remain a significant component in organisations, where staff are offered opportunities to advance their skills and understanding in data management as well as preservation. This suggests the need for supporting the personnel involved in the management and preservation of data with training to advance their expertise.

 

Technological infrastructure

Preservation data requires the availability of various technological infrastructure that supports storage, management, and preserving data from damage (Davis & Osoba, 2019). Technological infrastructure consists of the requisite equipment, software, hardware, a secure environment and the skills to establish and maintain the digital preservation programme. It anticipates and responds to changing technology to meet the required standards for preservation of data. The organisation needs to have various technological infrastructure such as servers, computers, internet connectivity and other software to support data preservation.

 

Conclusion

In conclusion, preservation of data requires an active approach by the organisations to implement strategies and programs for supporting the usability of the data over a period of time. For this reason, organisations are required to develop policies that clearly stipulate aspects of data preservation. Ensuring the availability of well-trained personnel is another important aspect for supporting the preservation of data in an organisation. This requires the availability of personnel with IT expertise and data management. Furthermore, the availability of technological infrastructure plays an important role in supporting the preservation of data. This involved ensuring the availability of hardware and software that could support data management practices

   

References

Ahmad, R., & Rafiq, M. (2023). Global perspective on digital preservation policy: A systematic review. Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, 55(3), 859-867.

Choudhury, S. (2017). Data management and preservation of digital research data. Against the Grain, 29(5), 10-18

Davis, J. S., & Osoba, O. (2019). Improving privacy preservation policy in the modern information age. Health and Technology, 9(1), 65-75.

Hazela, B., Gupta, S. K., Soni, N., & Saranya, C. N. (2022). Securing the confidentiality and integrity of cloud computing data. Electrochemical Society Transactions, 107(1), 2651-2663.

Subaveerapandiyan, A., & Maurya, A. (2022). Research Data Preservation Practices of Library and Information Science Faculties.

VandeCreek, D., Schumacher, J., Jones, S., & Taylor, D. (2026). Taking Action Together: Professional Development and Digital Preservation in the Digital POWRR Project. International Journal of Digital Curation, 20(1), 118-129