Invited Talk: Preservation Metadata for Born-Digital Content

Ensuring long term access to digital materials is no longer optional—it is a core responsibility for every institution stewarding digital content. Karin Bredenberg, chair of the PREMIS Editorial Committee, offers a focused introduction to digital preservation, highlighting the critical role of preservation metadata and the PREMIS standard in sustaining the authenticity, reliability, and usability of digital objects over time. It demonstrates why preservation cannot rely on a single metadata standard and Bredenberg will argue for a strategic, coordinated use of multiple standards to meet the complex demands of long term stewardship. Bredenberg will clarify how preservation metadata complements descriptive metadata, dispelling the common misconception that using several standards leads to unnecessary duplication. Instead, it will be shown how intentional overlaps strengthen interoperability and support preservation workflows. Participants will gain a clearer understanding of why preservation metadata matters, how PREMIS fits into a broader metadata ecosystem, and how adopting these practices can significantly enhance the long term value of their digital collections and their continued trustworthiness and reusability.