Increasingly, people get the information they need in digital formats, whether through the Internet or via electronic publications. We call these formats "born digital." Much of this information will be lost to future generations if it is not preserved.

In 2000, the Library embarked on a new initiative for collecting and preserving valuable digital resources: the National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program.

As materials are increasingly being created in digital formats, it has become necessary to devise an infrastructure for their preservation for later generations. The Library of Congress has been asked by the U.S. Congress to lead a nationwide program that will include many partners with defined roles and responsibilities that are committed to preserving digital content within a preservation architecture.