A preservation policy maturity model: a practical tool for Greek libraries and archives

Abstract

In 2011 in Greece, a nationwide survey into the preservation status of collections of public, municipal, academic and bank libraries, including the General State Archives, wascompleted. The survey was part of a larger research project. This survey aimed to clarify the institutions' current preservation actions, policies and overall approach towards preservation. Based on the results of this nationwide research, the author developed a self-assessment preservation performance tool for libraries and archives, called the Preservation Policy Maturity Model. It is essentially a practical yet well-grounded preservation policy maturity model, which helps institutions to formulate a consistent preservation policy by roadmapping their actions, according to current best practice and embedded peercomparison. It is addressed to all Greek libraries and archives. Its innovative nature lies in that the level of preservation maturity that anorganization is initially attributed emerges through the analysis of data deriving from the nationwide survey.