UNESCO/PERSIST Content Task Force March 2016 – “The aim of the Guidelines is to provide an overarching starting point for libraries, archives, museums and other heritage institutions when drafting their own policies on the selection of digital heritage for long- term sustainable digital preservation. Existing institutional policies may be assessed against the Guidelines and revised if required. The Guidelines address a diverse audience. As digital heritage may differ widely between communities, regions and countries, its preservation requires engagement and cooperation of both the public and the private sectors, as well as content creators. While public institutions may have the primary legal responsibility for managing heritage collections , the private sector must also face the challenge of preserving and ensuring access to its digital information. It may be for regulatory requirements and responsibilities to shareholders, but there is also a corporate social responsibility to support the sustainable growth and development of their communities, regions , and the world by retaining valuable digital heritage and making it accessible for future generations. The Guidelines acknowledge that libraries, archives, museums and other related organizations are different in mandates, operation and methods used in collecting and managing their holdings. However, with the development of information technology and the growing user demand and expectation of fast and integrated access across library, archives and museum collections, all heritage institutions and information providers face similar challenges in the selection and preservation of digital materials. The Guidelines thus target institutions, professionals and administrators on every level and in every region of the world in order to review existing material for selection, highlight important issues, and offer guidance when drafting institutional policies. The Content Task Force also acknowledges that there is an ethical dimension to the issue of selecting heritage for preservation but will not explore this in detail at this stage…”