Museums are essential institutions that we trust to steward, preserve, and care for our collective cultural heritage – but the collections and heritage of tomorrow are being created today in digital formats. How can museums ensure that the digital collections they are creating and collecting today continue to be available and accessible in the future? The simple answer is: Start now. Don’t wait. Whether you are digitizing your physical collections to increase access or creating digital assets in the form of virtual programming, almost all museums have some amount of digital materials that are in need of care and preservation.

Even with a full-time staff of one or two people, there are steps that museums can take to start caring for the valuable digital materials in their collections. This webinar will provide an overview of these initial steps, and will include:

• An overview of digital preservation concepts and challenges
• How to create an inventory to know what digital materials you have
• Basic strategies to protect and preserve digital collections
• Resources to learn more and help you get started

The statements and opinions expressed by panelists, hosts, attendees, or other participants of this event are their own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of, nor are endorsed by, the American Alliance of Museums.