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Once the essential elements have been defined, the preservation programmes task is
to find, and continue to find, combinations of data, software and hardware that will re-
present those elements as accurately as required.
The degree of software dependency may limit the choice of strategies that are
available. For example, data- or document-type objects may be effectively
presented by a range of software, while software objects may have far fewer options
for retaining access once their original operating environment has been lost.
It is important to take active steps now, even small ones, which will preserve access
for the manageable future, while also planning for whatever long-term approaches
appear to be the most practical.
The current front-runners as long-term strategies appear to be: the use of standards for
data encoding, structuring and description that can be expected to remain recognisable
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