nestor - Network of Expertise in Long-Term Storage and Long-Term availability of Digital Resources in Germany

We still do not know how to archive digital scientific publications, works of art, images and sound recordings, files, primary data and music in such a way as to make them permanently readable and therefore accessible for all time. However, publications and information sources on new media are already ubiquitous as indispensable aspects of working in the fields of science, research, culture and public administration. The arts are also making increasing use of digital techniques in their attempt to reflect our age in words, images and sounds. If we wish to preserve this cultural heritage for subsequent generations and to ensure the permanent accessibility of digital resources, we need to tackle the globally unsolved problems surrounding the long-term accessibility of digital documents. The necessity of coming up with viable solution strategies for the preservation of digital resources presupposes new forms of collaboration between the major libraries, archives, museums and other organisations involved in the fields of science and media. This is because digital objects lose the technical and formal properties required for their long-term usability just as quickly as new technologies and storage formats are developed. nestor has been created in reaction of the awareness that no single institution can be successful in finding solutions for the long term preservation of digital content. The nestor project bundles the national available long-term preservation know-how, energies and skills – forming the basis for a future alliance dedicated to preserving Germany's digital heritage. In the same way as no single institution can face the challenge of digital long term preservation alone, no single country alone can. Therefore, nestor also collaborates with international partners in various fields.