The main objective of this study is to analyse the degree of implementation of digital preservation in custodial institutions in the Region of Murcia, such as archives, libraries, museums, universities and documentation centres. In view of the exponential growth of digital information and its vulnerability to technological obsolescence, the study seeks to assess whether these organisations have formalised plans to guarantee the long-term access, integrity and authenticity of their collections.
To this end, a mixed methodology has been used, combining a literature review, qualitative analysis of institutional websites and a survey addressed to a sample of 91 regional institutions, from which 52 valid responses were obtained, representing a participation rate of 57.14%.
The results show that digital preservation in the region is at an early and uneven stage. Although 38.5% of the institutions manage hybrid environments, combining paper and digital records, 61.5% lack a digital preservation plan, and only 13.5% state that they have one. Likewise, a notable shortage of specialised resources is identified: only 23% of the organisations have staff trained in this field, and barely 3.8% have teams specifically dedicated to these tasks.
The study shows that digitisation is frequently used as a preventive conservation measure for physical documents, but it is not always integrated into a comprehensive digital preservation strategy. It could be because many institutions are focusing their efforts on paper documentation and have not yet fully addressed the management of digital holdings. Despite these shortcomings in the formalisation of policies and resources, there is a high level of institutional willingness (81.6%) to collaborate in future research, which constitutes a positive basis for promoting the planning and coordination required at regional level.