The NDSA Levels of Digital Preservation Working Group is pleased to announce the release of the NDSA Levels of Digital Preservation version 2.1, which now incorporates environmental sustainability considerations into the Levels recommendations and resources.
A new supplemental resource, the Environmental Sustainability Guide, is the main update for version 2.1. The new guide aims to help organizations embed environmental sustainability considerations into digital preservation decision-making when using the Levels to measure and guide digital preservation strategy. It includes core concepts that are broadly relevant to all aspects of digital preservation work as well as environmental sustainability decision points that connect with the Storage, Integrity, and Content Functional Areas of the Levels matrix. Focusing on decisions after the point of selection for preservation, the guide is intended to complement existing Levels resources.
In addition to the new guide, version 2.1 includes the following updates:
– Leaf icons on the Levels matrix that correspond to environmental sustainability decision points in the Environmental Sustainability Guide.
– Minor updates to the text of Storage Level 1 and Level 4 and Metadata Level 1 and Level 2 in the matrix.
– Significant updates to the Working Definitions of Terms based on community feedback and new terms introduced in the Environmental Sustainability Guide.
– Minor updates to the Implementation Guidelines, Assessment Tool, and Digital Curation Decision Guide to include environmental sustainability considerations and to emphasize that Level 4 need not be the goal for all organizations in all Functional Areas.
Version 2.1 revisions are not yet reflected in the Levels translations.
Thank you to all who participated in the process, whether in discussions at the August 2023 Levels open office session that set the direction for this revision, through feedback on early work products at the April 2025 Levels open office session, via public comment on the new guide, or in discussions at iPRES and NDSA DigiPres in October and November 2025. Your contributions helped to shape the final products for version 2.1. The Levels Working Group would also like to thank the Levels Steering Group and the Communications and Publications Working Group for guidance and recommendations throughout the revision.
If you have any questions about the Levels, or would like to translate any of the version 2.1 outputs, please reach out to the Levels Steering Group via our feedback form.
On behalf of the NDSA Levels of Digital Preservation Working Group
Elizabeth La Beaud (co-chair), University of Southern Mississippi and Mississippi Digital Library
Keith Pendergrass (co-chair), Harvard Business School
Edith Halvarsson, The Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford
Sophia van Hoek, Municipality of The Hague
Sibyl Schaefer, University of California, San Diego
Dina Sokolova, Columbia University