Current approaches to preservation are being influenced by new technologies that are eliciting a disproportionate amount of emphasis on technical problems. At the same time, new modes of collaboration among cultural heritage institutions provide a perfect opportunity to look at the core meaning of preservation from a broad cultural perspective. Preservation must be approached not only as a set of technical solutions to technical problems but also as a more complex concept that includes social dimensions. Preservationists must be responsible for expanding their fields of influence, not allowing these fields to wither, as they seem to be doing in some institutions. Whither will preservation go? This article expatiates on the issues of the past and future worlds of preservation, focusing on definitions of preservation, components that can be found across disciplines, possible research agendas, and the difference between preservation and access.
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