The National Digital Heritage Archive (NDHA) Programme
Digital preservation management is an emerging field of software development, and the National Library's NDHA Programme developed the NDHA as its technical and business solution to preserve and provide long-term access to digital heritage collections under their guardianship.
Background to the NDHA Programme
The National Library of New Zealand (Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa) Act 2003 requires the Library to collect, preserve, protect and make accessible digital collections, along with traditional paper collections, in accordance with collection and access policies, in ways that ensure current and future access to New Zealand's documentary heritage.
The Act also extended legal deposit to include electronic documents, such as CDs, DVDs and websites. This meant the National Library had to create ways of collecting and preserving these electronic documents and also ensure ongoing access to these items.
More about the National Library Act
To meet these expanded digital heritage archiving, preservation and access responsibilities the National Library required a digital archive and preservation management solution and the NDHA Programme was established in 2004.
Download the NDHA Programme factsheet
NDHA Programme Development Partners
The NDHA Programme worked with Ex Libris Group, a library management systems vendor, and Sun Microsystems, a provider of open network computing systems to develop the NDHA.
Read more about the partnership - Ex Libris Group website
Read more about the partnership - Sun Microsystems website
Significant outcomes
- INDIGO, a tool developed by the NDHA Programme, to enable staff to load digital objects into the NDHA's preservation system.
- In collaboration with the British Library, a Web Curator Tool for selective web harvesting. More about the Web Curator Tool
- An object management system, an interim system to store digital material collected by the National Library prior to the completion of the NDHA solution.
- A tool for the online legal deposit of internet documents.
