ISO 20271-2:2026

Document management — Reference model for long-term preservation of textual documents — Part 2: Fundamentals

Scope

This document specifies fundamental concepts of the reference model for textual documents and provides guidance to support long-term preservation from the perspectives of its five layers.
It defines:

the layers that constitute the reference model for textual documents;
the types of elements incorporated within textual documents;
property types associated with textual documents;
classifications of properties by type; and
properties inherent to textual documents relevant to long-term preservation.

This document does not cover:

specific technical methods for checking whether the properties exist within a specific textual document;
specific technical methods for analysing particular textual document format (e.g. DOC, DOCX, ODT, TXT, PDF);
specific metadata items for the long-term preservation of textual documents;
processes, procedures, or management practices related to long-term preservation or records management.