What type of metadata might support digital preservation efforts?

All types of metadata play crucial roles in supporting digital preservation efforts. Descriptive metadata provides information that helps in identifying and locating digital objects, which is essential for access and retrieval purposes. It typically includes elements such as title, creator, subject, and keywords.

Preservation metadata is specifically tailored to describe the management and usage of digital objects over time. It encompasses information about the processes and actions taken to preserve materials, including details about the file formats, the version history, and the rights associated with using the items. This type of metadata is invaluable for ensuring that the objects remain accessible and usable through changing technological environments.

Technical metadata provides information about the technical aspects of a digital object, including details about its format, encoding, and structural information. This ensures that digital objects can be rendered and understood correctly in the future by maintaining records of how data was created, processed, and stored.

Taken together, these metadata types form a comprehensive framework that facilitates effective digital preservation by ensuring that digital content can be accurately described, maintained, and accessed over time. Thus, all of the above options contribute meaningfully to digital preservation efforts, making the choice that includes all types the most appropriate answer.