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A new white paper from the Council on Library and Information Resources
(CLIR) and the Software Preservation Network (SPN) presents findings from a
survey- and interview-based study of software preservation service
providers, including archivists, librarians, preservation specialists,
technologists, and other information professionals.



“The need for greater attention to software preservation has only grown
more acute as research and memory organizations amass vast and rapidly
growing collections of software,” notes the report. “Many of these
organizations struggle to manage these holdings alongside other digital and
physical materials, even when keeping software is essential for continuing
to provide access to other digital artifacts.”



Supporting Software Preservation Services in Research and Memory
Organizations
<https://www.softwarepreservationnetwork.org/supporting-software-preservation-services-in-research-and-memory-organizations/>
 identifies concepts, skill sets, barriers, and future directions related
to software preservation work. Although definitions of “software” can vary
across preservation contexts, the study found that there appears to be wide
support for inter-organizational collaboration in software preservation.
The report includes 13 recommendations for broadening representation in the
field, defining the field, networking and community building, informal and
formal learning, and implementing shared infrastructures and model
practices.



The report is the result of research launched in 2019 by SPN’s
Research-in-Practice Working Group. The authors are Jessica G. Benner, of
Carnegie Mellon University; Seth Erickson of the University of California,
Santa Barbara; Wendy Hagenmaier, of Georgia Tech; Monique Lassere, of
Harvard University while conducting research on this report; Christa
Williford, of CLIR; and Lauren Work, of the University of Virginia.



A pdf of the report and all products of this study are shared in Zenodo
under open licenses that permit adaptation and reuse, at
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7086618.



About the Council on Library and Information Resources:

The Council on Library and Information Resources <https://www.clir.org>
(CLIR) is an independent, nonprofit organization that forges strategies to
enhance research, teaching, and learning environments in collaboration with
libraries, cultural institutions, and communities of higher learning.

About the Software Preservation Network:

The Software Preservation Network
<https://www.softwarepreservationnetwork.org/> (SPN) is an independent,
community-led membership association focused on ensuring long-term access
to software through community engagement, infrastructure support, and
knowledge generation. Guided by the belief that software is critical
information infrastructure, SPN works to create a space in which
organizations and individuals from industry, academia, government, cultural
heritage, and the public sphere can contribute their myriad skills and
capabilities toward collaborative solutions that will provide persistent
access to software and software-dependent data.



Caitlin Perry
Communications and Data Manager
Educopia Institute <https://educopia.org/>
Follow us on Twitter <https://twitter.com/Educopia>!

She/Her
Working from Oyster Bay, NY