Trusted Digital Repositories: Attributes and Responsibilities -

From: Robin Dale (Robin_Dale@NOTES.RLG.ORG)
Date: Tue May 07 2002 - 17:02:49 CDT

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Date:         Tue, 7 May 2002 15:02:49 -0700
From: Robin Dale <mailto:Robin_Dale@NOTES.RLG.ORG>
Subject:      Trusted Digital Repositories: Attributes and Responsibilities -
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    *Apologies for cross posting*

    RLG and OCLC Issue Final Report on Trusted Digital Repositories: Attributes and Responsibilities

    May 7, 2002 - RLG and OCLC have released a new report on long-term preservation of and access to research materials in digital form. "Trusted Digital Repositories: Attributes and Responsibilities" ( http://www.rlg.org/longterm/repositories.pdf) is available at the RLG Web site.

    This report is primarily intended for cultural institutions such as libraries, archives, museums, and scholarly publishers and is specifically aimed at those with traditional or legal responsibilities for the preservation of cultural heritage. It is written to aid senior administrators as well as those implementing digital archiving services.

    Following a short historical introduction, the report presents a brief definition of "trusted digital repositories," provides some examples of the circumstances in which institutions are undertaking their creation, and speaks to the nature and achievement of trust. It addresses the seven attributes such repositories must have and discusses requisite responsibilities at both the higher organizational/curatorial level and the operational level. Finally, the report looks at how repositories can be certified and summarizes seven key recommendations.

    An appendix to the RLG-OCLC report provides technical overviews of the
    "Reference Model for an Open Archival Information System" (OAIS); - a common framework for describing and comparing architectures and operations of digital archives. (Compliance with this model is a defining attribute of a trusted digital repository. In January 2002 RLG established an OAIS resources page and discussion list at its Web site to assist implementers.) An operational responsibilities checklist, a glossary, and selected additional resources round out the report.

    "Trusted Digital Repositories: Attributes and Responsibilities" benefits from international discussion and excellent feedback on a draft that RLG and OCLC released for community comment in August 2001. Stakeholders in the effort to preserve digital materials were urged to contact RLG program officer Robin Dale with their comments on the earlier "Attributes of a Trusted Digital Repository: Meeting the Needs of Research Resources." Dale continues to welcome comments and ideas on the final publication.

    Colin Webb, director of the Preservation Services Branch of the National Library of Australia, and a working group member, says: "Just how to ensure reliable access to digital information over the long term seems to raise questions from all directions. It's vital that we take the time and effort to focus on discrete sets of questions - such as what a trustworthy digital repository would look like and what it would do. In this way we lay down foundations for effective action. It's also very important that this report has been accomplished by an international, collaborative effort drawing on perspectives from a range of working environments, experiences, and agendas."

    "The completed report gives us a shared basis for further coordinated work with our members and other like-minded institutions," says Dale. "For example, RLG is particularly interested in the design and implementation of a certification program for trusted digital repositories. This will produce tools and guidance for institutions responsible for digital collections - whether they are creating their own repositories, working with publishers, or planning to contract for third-party services."

    "This report will be very useful to our members as they consider digitization and preservation issues," says Meg Bellinger, vice president, OCLC Digital & Preservation Resources. "It has distilled and confirmed some key concepts, and can serve as a guide for institutions addressing the digital archiving question."

    The expert working group charged by RLG and OCLC to develop the information and consensus embodied in the report comprised Neil Beagrie, Joint Information Systems Committee (UK); Meg Bellinger, OCLC Digital & Preservation Resources; Robin Dale, RLG; Marianne Doerr, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek; Margaret Hedstrom, University of Michigan; Anne Kenney, Cornell University; Maggie Jones, Cedars Project (CURL Exemplars in Digital Archives, UK); Catherine Lupovici, Bibliothèque national de France; Kelly Russell, Cedars Project (CURL Exemplars in Digital Archives, UK); Colin Webb, National Library of Australia; and Deborah Woodyard, British Library.

    _________________________________________________

    Robin L. Dale RLG Member Programs & Initiatives 1200 Villa Street Mountain View, CA 94041-1100

    Ph: (650) 691-2238 Fax: 650.964.0943 Email: mailto:Robin.Dale@notes.rlg.org

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