Rearchive

Rearchive is the process of creating a new archive of existing material, typically to preserve it under updated conditions, migrate to current formats, or consolidate scattered holdings. In digital preservation and library practice, rearchiving helps counteract format obsolescence, media degradation, and changing access policies by refreshing bitstreams and updating metadata.

Typical rearchive workflows include inventorying holdings, selecting items for migration, converting data to contemporary formats, and packaging content with preservation metadata in standards such as OAIS, PREMIS, and METS. For web content, rearchiving may deploy web archive formats like WARC to ensure continued accessibility. The objective is to maintain long-term usability while documenting provenance, rights, and original context.

Benefits of rearchiving include reduced risk of data loss, improved interoperability with modern tooling, and consistency across collections. Potential drawbacks include resource requirements, the risk of creating redundant copies if not carefully managed, and the need to preserve original bitstreams and licensing terms. Effective rearchiving requires governance, routine data integrity checks (such as checksums), and alignment with retention schedules and preservation planning. It is commonly part of broader data management strategies that involve migration, replication, backups, or refresh cycles, and it often interacts with repository policies, user access controls, and institutional stewardship goals.