The contribution of the archival principles to a meta-science methodology for digital heritage

The article discusses the contribution of archival principles to the definition and implementation of a common methodology for digital heritage curation and protection, and identifies general implications both for the archival science itself and for a meta-science perspective. This theoretical approach has been successfully developed by the international archival community in the last fifteen years and its outputs have been able to support other disciplines and research projects dedicated to the curation and preservation of digital heritage by strengthening their conceptual frameworks and consistency. More comprehensive research is required in the future to clarify and reinforce the suggestions proposed here, but the experiences of many international projects in this sector – specifically those characterized by large and collaborative research and a cross-disciplinary approach, such as DELOS, ERPANET, InterPARES, CASPAR and APARSEN – can confirm this preliminary analysis. They can also provide basic elements for better exploring the positive role of activities such as integration and cooperation as opposed to ambiguous concepts like convergence. In order to provide support for these suggestions, the article uses the archival concept of evidence of authenticity as an example of how it has been incorporated into international research outputs in the digital preservation field