The problem of preserving digital information for the future is not
only, or even primarily, a problem of fine tuning a narrow set of
technical variables. It is not a clearly defined problem ... rather, it
is a grander problem of organizing ourselves over time and as a society
to maneuver effectively in a digital landscape. It is a problem of
building ... the various systematic supports ... that will enable us to
tame the anxieties and move our cultural records naturally and
confidently into the future.
-- J. Garrett and
D. Waters (eds) Preserving digital information (1996).