University of Illinois

Libraries and museums already have extensive holdings of computer games, video games, and interactive fiction, but they generally do not have long-term preservation plans for such content. The University of Illinois will collaborate with the University of Maryland, the Rochester Institute of Technology, and Stanford University to study effective strategies for preserving educational computer games and other complex interactive materials. The research project will determine the significant properties of these digital materials that must remain intact over time and analyze the likelihood that various preservation strategies such as virtualization and data migration can preserve these properties. A final project report will include recommended best practices for libraries, archives, and museums to preserve these kinds of material.