New Evidence on Storage Practices: Results from the 2023 NDSA Storage Survey

Abstract

The National Digital Stewardship Alliance (NDSA) recently conducted a survey to gather new data on trends, technologies, standards, and practices that impact digital preservation storage at different types of organizations around the world. Distributed through 18 different national and international listservs, the NDSA Working Group received 138 completed responses to the 51-question survey between October and November 2023. The 2023 survey builds on the results of the three surveys carried out in 2011, 2013, and 2019 on storage infrastructure, and offers a longitudinal view of how practices have changed.

The survey gathers any information organizations use to establish and manage a preservation storage infrastructure (including systems and service providers) to meet their mission. Additionally, the survey captures insights on planning and organizational commitment. The newest feature of the survey is a section to address environmental awareness, as organizations seek to optimize digital preservation actions. This data can be used as a tool for organizations to advocate for resources, provide direction for future practices, inform work on tools, and provide an opportunity for collaboration on common challenges.

This presentation will provide a brief look at how the report is developed using responses from international universities, institutes, government agencies, and others followed by some preliminary findings on how they manage digital preservation storage. The survey report will be published on the NDSA site later in 2024.