We introduce the digital preservation problem and explain the importance of metadata for the preservation of the digital information, especially to the cultural content. We emphasize that the digital information will only be available if the necessary metadata are appropriately designed and specified. We also present the Reference Model for an “Open Archival Information System”(OAIS), which is a de facto standard in digital preservation. The OAIS model is not just concerned with metadata. It defines and provides a framework for functions applicable to any archive, and establishes a common perspective by providing a common framework that can be used to explore archival challenge, especially for digital information, and a common language to facilitate discussion across the different communities in digital preservation.