CFParticipation: Revising the Library of Congress’ Recommended Format Specifications

Ted Westervelt (Library of Congress) has written a post about the Library of Congress’ new Recommended Format Specifications. These specifications provide resources for libraries and librarians about how to select content that has the greatest chance of long term preservation and access.

It is not merely the Library of Congress which might benefit from something like the Recommended Format Specifications. The fundamental interest of the Library in creative works is to ensure that those it adds to its collection will last and remain accessible to patrons well into the future. Yet the identification of the characteristics which encourage preservation and long-term access are not ones which are of value to the Library of Congress alone. Creators of these works want their creations to last; distributors and vendors want to ensure that the content they are sharing will remain available to their customers long after it is sent to them and remains available for distribution to future customers.

The Library of Congress requests feedback on the specifications from the community by March 31, 2015 to continue improving the framework.