DIGISAM

DIGISAM is the Swedish Agency for Digital Preservation, a government-supported entity working within the National Archives of Sweden. Its core mandate is to ensure the long-term preservation and public accessibility of digital materials produced by public institutions, including cultural heritage records, government documents, and scientific data.

The agency carries out national-level activities to support sustainable digital preservation. It develops guidelines and standards for preservation workflows, metadata, file formats, and trusted digital repositories; provides advisory services to public sector organizations; and coordinates national projects aimed at strengthening digital continuity and access. DIGISAM also promotes training, knowledge sharing, and collaboration across libraries, archives, museums, universities, and private partners involved in digitization and data management.

In its operations, DIGISAM emphasizes interoperability and international collaboration. It participates in standards development, contributes to research on digital preservation methods, and disseminates best practices to ensure consistent, reliable preservation across institutions. The agency also engages in public communication efforts to raise awareness about the importance of preserving digital cultural heritage for future generations.

Governance and oversight come from the National Archives and the relevant government ministries, with partnerships across regional archival authorities and research communities. This framework supports a coordinated national approach to digital preservation, enabling stable access to digital collections over time.

DIGISAM’s work is seen as central to safeguarding Sweden’s digital public memory, supporting ongoing preservation planning, and enabling researchers, educators, and citizens to access preserved digital materials now and in the future.