Digital Preservation

1. Local: your local machine

• Desktop, laptop, tablet, etc.

2. External: an external drive

• Available through ITS
• Set up automatic sync
• Macs: Automator app
• PCs: Setup for backing up content to another drive

3. Cloud: VT Google Drive

• Unlimited storage
• Automatic sync with the Chrome Application Launcher for Drive (by Google)

Guides

• Personal Archiving (Library of Congress)
• White Paper on Best Practices for the Capture of Social Media Records (NARA, May 2013)

Tools

• Online-Convert.com or a free trial with BatchConverter: batch file format conversion
• MD5Checker: verifying checksums
• WINMD5Free: verifying downloaded files' checksums
• Web-Capture.net or novaPDF: screenshotting websites and saving them as PDF/As

1. Monitor your back-ups regularly to ensure they are operating properly
2. Set reminders:
   1. Every year: Check your preserved files to ensure you can still open and read them
   2. Every 5 years: Migrate copies to new storage spaces
3. Verify your checksums