From digital libraries to digital preservation research: the importance of users and context

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to point out the commonalities of research in digital libraries and digital preservation with regard to the issues of users and context of information. Design/methodology/approach - The paper's approach is a review of selected literature and reports of research projects focusing particularly on digital preservation research. Findings - It is noted that just like the digital library community the digital preservation research community is also confronted with the challenges of capturing, storing and making use of the information related to users and context. Practical implications - The paper points out some current research in digital preservation that aims to handle the users and context information for building future digital preservation systems. It highlights some major challenges in these areas. Originality/value - The paper reports on the state of the art research in digital preservation.