Here’s a detailed article in English about the National Diet Library’s (NDL) release of the Japanese translation of “Understanding PREMIS,” as published on the Current Awareness Portal:
Unlocking the Future of Digital Preservation: National Diet Library Releases Japanese Translation of “Understanding PREMIS”
Tokyo, Japan – July 18, 2025 – The National Diet Library (NDL) has taken a significant step forward in ensuring the long-term preservation of its vast digital collections with the release of the Japanese translation of “Understanding PREMIS.” This comprehensive guide, meticulously translated and published by the NDL, sheds light on PREMIS (Preservation Metadata: Implementation Strategies), a crucial international standard for managing and understanding the data needed to preserve digital objects.
The announcement, made on the Current Awareness Portal, marks a pivotal moment for digital preservation efforts not only within Japan but also for institutions worldwide grappling with the complexities of safeguarding digital information for future generations.
What is PREMIS and Why is it Important?
In the digital age, information is increasingly born digital or is digitized for accessibility and preservation. However, digital formats can become obsolete, hardware can fail, and software required to access files can disappear. This is where digital preservation comes in – the active management of digital content to ensure continued access and usability over time.
At the heart of effective digital preservation lies metadata. Metadata, essentially “data about data,” provides the essential context, provenance, and technical information needed to understand, manage, and migrate digital objects as technology evolves. Without robust and standardized metadata, digital collections risk becoming inaccessible, unintelligible, or even lost.
This is precisely the role PREMIS plays. Developed and maintained by the Digital Library Federation (DLF) and the Library of Congress, PREMIS is an international standard specifically designed for preservation metadata. It provides a common framework and a controlled vocabulary for describing the actions, agents, rights, and technical properties that are critical for ensuring the long-term survival of digital resources.
“Understanding PREMIS”: Your Gateway to the Standard
“Understanding PREMIS” serves as an accessible and comprehensive introduction to the PREMIS data dictionary and its practical application. It demystifies the complexities of preservation metadata, explaining:
- The Core Concepts of PREMIS: This includes an in-depth look at the fundamental elements of PREMIS, such as Entities (Objects, Agents, Rights, Events), Attributes (properties of these entities), and the relationships between them.
- The PREMIS Data Dictionary: The guide walks readers through the various metadata elements defined by PREMIS, explaining their purpose and how they contribute to the preservation lifecycle.
- Implementation Strategies: Crucially, “Understanding PREMIS” offers insights into how institutions can effectively implement PREMIS within their digital preservation workflows and systems. This includes discussions on data modeling, interchange, and practical use cases.
- The Importance of Preservation Actions: The book highlights how PREMIS metadata records crucial preservation actions performed on digital objects, such as migration, emulation, or fixity checks, providing an auditable trail of their treatment.
The NDL’s Commitment to Digital Preservation
The National Diet Library has long been at the forefront of digital preservation initiatives in Japan. As the nation’s library, it holds a unique responsibility to preserve and make accessible the cultural and intellectual heritage of the country, much of which is now in digital form.
By releasing the Japanese translation of “Understanding PREMIS,” the NDL is not only equipping its own staff with essential knowledge but also empowering other Japanese libraries, archives, museums, and cultural heritage institutions to adopt and benefit from this international best practice. This translation fosters a shared understanding and a common language for digital preservation across the nation, facilitating collaboration and knowledge exchange.
The NDL’s commitment underscores the growing recognition that robust digital preservation is not a luxury but a necessity. As the volume of digital information continues to explode, ensuring its longevity requires standardized tools and a deep understanding of the underlying metadata.
What This Means for the Future
The availability of “Understanding PREMIS” in Japanese is expected to have several positive impacts:
- Increased Adoption of PREMIS: More institutions will be able to confidently implement PREMIS, leading to more consistent and effective digital preservation practices across Japan.
- Enhanced Interoperability: A shared understanding of PREMIS will improve the interoperability of digital preservation systems and facilitate the exchange of metadata and digital objects between institutions.
- Improved Access to Digital Heritage: By ensuring the long-term preservation of digital collections, future generations will have greater access to Japan’s rich cultural and intellectual heritage.
- Contribution to International Standards: Japan’s active engagement with PREMIS strengthens the global effort to develop and implement effective digital preservation strategies.
The National Diet Library’s initiative to translate and disseminate “Understanding PREMIS” is a testament to its dedication to safeguarding the digital future. It provides a vital resource for anyone involved in the preservation of digital information, offering a clear path towards ensuring that our digital heritage remains accessible and meaningful for centuries to come.
国立国会図書館（NDL）、デジタル資料の長期保存に必要なメタデータを定めたPREMISの概説書「Understanding PREMIS」の日本語訳を公開
The AI has delivered the news.
The following question was used to generate the response from Google Gemini:
At 2025-07-18 07:07, ‘国立国会図書館（NDL）、デジタル資料の長期保存に必要なメタデータを定めたPREMISの概説書「Understanding PREMIS」の日本語訳を公開’ was published according to カレントアウェアネス・ポータル. Please write a detailed article with related information in an easy-to-understand manner. Please answer in English.