Sustainability of Digital Formats: Planning for Library of Congress Collections

• ABC
• ABC, Alembic
• Adobe Photoshop Family (PSD, PSB)
• Adobe_Photoshop_Family, Adobe Photoshop File Format Family
• ARML
• ARML_2.0, Augmented Reality Markup Language 2.0
• BLEND
• BLEND, Blender 3D Data File
• CGM
• CGM Family, Computer Graphics Metafile (CGM) File Format Family
• DGN
• DGN, MicroStation DGN Family
• DNG
• DNG_1_1, Adobe Digital Negative (DNG), Version 1.1
• DWG
• DWG_Family, DWG (AutoCAD Drawing) Format Family
• DXF
• DXF_ASCII_Family, DXF (AutoCAD Drawing Interchange Format) Family, ASCII variant
• E57
• E57, ASTEM E57 3D file format
• EPS (Encapsulated PostScript)
• EPS_3, Encapsulated PostScript (EPS) File Format, Version 3.x
• EXPRESS
• EXPRESS, EXPRESS data modeling language, ISO 10303-11
• FBX
• FBX, Autodesk Filmbox Interchange File
• GIF
• GIF_89a, Graphics Interchange Format, Version 89a
• glTF
• glTF_family, glTF (GL Transmission Format) Family
• glTF_2_0, glTF (GL Transmission Format), version 2.0
• IFC
• IFC-SPF, Industry Foundation Classes (IFC), Clear Text Family
• JPEG
• JFIF_1_02, JPEG File Interchange Format, Version 1.02
• JPEG 2000 File Formats
• JP2_FF, JPEG 2000 Part 1 (Core) jp2 File Format
• JPX_FF, JPEG 2000 Part 2 (Extensions) jpf File Format
• JT
• JT, Jupiter Tessellation (JT)
• LAS
• LAS_1_4, LAS (LASer) File Format, Version 1.4
• MA
• MA, Maya ASCII Scene File Format
• MB
• MB, Maya Binary Scene File Format
• MTL
• MTL, Wavefront Material Template Library (MTL) File Format
• OBJ
• OBJ, Wavefront OBJ File Format
• PDF
• PDF_1_7_ext03, PDF, Version 1.7, ExtensionLevel 3
• PDF_2_0, PDF, Version 2.0, (ISO 32000-2: 2017)
• PDF/A-4, PDF for Long-term Preservation, Use of ISO 32000-2 (PDF 2.0)
• PDF/E-1, PDF Engineering Document Format, Use of PDF 1.6
• PLY
• PLY, Polygon File Format Family
• PRC
• PRC, Product Representation Compact (PRC) File Format
• PTM
• PTM, Polynomial Texture Map (PTM) File Format
• RTI
• RTI, Reflectance Transformation Imaging File Format
• STEP (ISO 10303)
• STEP-file, STEP-file, ISO 10303-21
• STL
• STL_family, STL (STereoLithography) File Format Family
• STL_ASCII, STL (STereoLithography) File Format, ASCII
• STL_binary, STL (STereoLithography) File Format, binary
• SVG
• SVG_family, Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) File Format Family
• SVG_1_1, Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG), Version 1.1
• SVG_Tiny_1_2, Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) Tiny, Version 1.2
• SVG_2, Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG), Version 2
• 3D Tiles
• 3D_Tiles_1.0, 3D Tiles Archive File Format, Version 1.0
• 3DM
• 3DM, 3D Model File Format Family
• 3MF
• 3MF, 3D Manufacturing Format
• TIFF
• TIFF_6, Revision 6.0
• U3D
• U3D_family, Universal 3D (U3D) format family. ECMA-363, Editions 1-4
• USD
• USD, Universal Scene Description
• USDZ, Universal Scene Description Zipped
• VRM
• VRM, VRM
• VRML, Virtual Reality Modeling Language Family
• VSDX
• VSDX, Visio VSDX Drawing File Format
• X3D
• X3D_family, Extensible 3D (X3D) File Format Family
• XYZ
• XYZ, XYZ Point Cloud

Includes formats for 2D and 3D computer-aided design (CAD) and computer-aided manufacturing (CAM), built environment, schematics, architectural drawings, photogrammetry scanning, point cloud data and more.

Inclusion of a format does not imply that it is preferred or acceptable for Library of Congress collections. Conversely, omission of a format from the list does not imply that it is not preferred or acceptable. See the Recommended Formats Statement for more information.

Descriptions will be drafted, added and updated over time. Persons with specialized knowledge are encouraged to review and comment on the descriptions using this contact form.