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Digital objects are fragile: files corrupt, formats become obsolete, metadata gets lost. The challenge of maintaining their accessibility and meaning over time is the core problem of digital curation. Early approaches borrowed from archival science, where records were managed through a linear lifecycle—creation, use, disposal. Digital curation emerged as a distinct subfield when practitioners recognized that digital assets require continuous, active intervention throughout their entire lifespan, not just at the end. This realization gave rise to three influential frameworks that still shape the field today: the Records Continuum Model, the Open Archival Information System (OAIS) Reference Model, and the DCC Curation Lifecycle Model.
The Records Continuum Model originated in archival science but was adapted to digital contexts by theorists like Frank Upward. It directly challenged the traditional linear lifecycle view that treated records as passing through discrete stages—creation, active use, semi-active storage, and eventual disposition (either destruction or permanent preservation). The Records Continuum Model instead posits that curation is not a stage that begins after a record's active life; it is an ongoing process that starts at the moment of creation and continues indefinitely. The model is multidimensional, capturing axes such as time, identity, memory, and evidential value. Its intellectual move was to emphasize that digital objects are always in the process of being curatable, and that curatorial decisions—about metadata, formats, access rights—must be embedded from the beginning.
This framework was not a direct replacement of earlier linear models but a fundamental rethinking of what curation means. It brought a sociotechnical perspective, arguing that curation involves not just technical processes but also organizational, legal, and cultural dimensions. While the Records Continuum Model remains highly influential in archival theory and education, it has been less directly operationalized in practical curation tools. Its legacy is a conceptual foundation that insists on the continuous, reflexive nature of stewardship.
In contrast to the Records Continuum's theoretical ambition, the Open Archival Information System (OAIS) Reference Model was developed with a practical goal: to create a common architectural standard for digital preservation repositories. Built by the space data community and later adopted as an ISO standard (ISO 14721), OAIS provides a high-level functional model that any trusted repository can implement. It defines six key functions—Ingest, Archival Storage, Data Management, Administration, Preservation Planning, and Access—alongside roles for Producers, Consumers, and Management. Its core contribution was to offer a technology-neutral vocabulary and structure that enabled interoperability and certification of digital archives.
OAIS did not reject the Records Continuum's insights, but it operated on a different level. Where the Records Continuum emphasized ongoing social processes, OAIS focused on the technical and organizational infrastructure needed to guarantee long-term access. The two frameworks complement each other: Records Continuum provides the why, OAIS provides the how in terms of system architecture. OAIS was rapidly adopted by memory institutions, data centers, and commercial vendors. It remains the dominant reference model for building digital repositories, and its concepts (such as Submission Information Packages, Archival Information Packages, and Dissemination Information Packages) have become standard terminology.
The Digital Curation Centre (DCC) Curation Lifecycle Model emerged from the need for a planning tool that covered the full breadth of digital curation activities. Created by the UK-based DCC, this model explicitly builds on OAIS but expands its scope in several ways. OAIS focuses on preservation within a repository; the DCC model begins earlier, with data creation and conceptualization, and extends beyond preservation to include appraisal, transformation, and re-use. It represents curation as a lifecycle of interrelated actions—from description and metadata capture to preservation planning, storage, access, and, crucially, the possibility of transformation into new forms.
The DCC model did not replace OAIS; it absorbed OAIS's functional entities (like Ingest and Archival Storage) into a broader, more granular framework. Its addition lies in its emphasis on the full lifecycle and its role as a practical guide for curation practitioners. The model also incorporates elements of the Records Continuum's continuous perspective, but expressed in a procedural, workflow-oriented language. Today, the DCC Curation Lifecycle Model is widely used as a framework for developing curation policies, assessing institutional readiness, and teaching digital curation. It operationalizes the theoretical insights of the Records Continuum within a structured process.
These three frameworks coexist today, dividing the field by scope and purpose. The Records Continuum Model provides a critical, sociotechnical lens that questions any simple technical solution and emphasizes the embeddedness of curation in social practices. It remains active in archival theory and research, but its abstract nature limits direct application in operational systems. The OAIS Reference Model is the standard for repository architecture: if an institution claims to have a trusted digital archive, it usually follows OAIS. The DCC Curation Lifecycle Model serves as a comprehensive planning tool that integrates OAIS components while addressing the entire lifecycle.
There is both agreement and disagreement across these frameworks. All three agree that digital objects cannot be left untouched; they require active, ongoing management. All recognize that curation involves decisions that must be made early and iteratively. The major disagreement lies in how much weight to give social and organizational factors versus technical and procedural ones. The Records Continuum privileges the former; OAIS and DCC privilege the latter. Another tension is between the idea of a unified lifecycle (as in the DCC model) and the Records Continuum's claim that a single linear path is misleading. In practice, most curation work draws on all three frameworks, using OAIS for infrastructure, DCC for planning, and the Records Continuum as a critical check on the limits of process models. The field continues to evolve, especially with the growth of big data, cloud storage, and digital humanities, but the foundational frameworks established between 1996 and 2007 remain the reference points for any serious discussion of digital curation.