OAIS Research Articles

Preserving digital heritage: assessing the compliance of digital repositories in South Africa with OAIS and TDR standards

Purpose The preservation of digital records, particularly their authenticity, integrity and accessibility over time, is a critical challenge faced by institutions worldwide. In South Africa, these challenges are further compounded by inadequate infrastructure, legal complexities, ad limited resources, which threaten the long-term sustainability of digital repositories. This study aims to investigate the compliance of selected digital repositories in South Africa with the standards of a Trusted Digital Repository (TDR) and the Open Archival Information System (OAIS) model. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative research approach was used, assessing five purposefully selected repositories based on their significance in preserving South Africa’s digital cultural heritage. Data collection involved semi-structured interviews with key personnel, content analysis of relevant documents (such as policies and procedures) and direct observations of repository environments to evaluate operational frameworks and technological infrastructure. A review of relevant literature informed the development of assessment criteria, while data from interviews, content analysis and observations were triangulated to ensure reliability. Findings The findings reveal significant shortcomings in compliance with OAIS and TDR standards, particularly in areas such as policy implementation, staffing, financial sustainability and technological infrastructure. None of the repositories fully met the OAIS responsibilities, and all lacked systems to ensure the independent understandability of digital records by designated communities. Practical implications The study highlights the need for improved staff training, stronger preservation policies and increased financial and technological investment to enhance compliance with international standards. Recommendations emphasize capacity building, strategic planning and collaborative efforts to sustainably manage South Africa’s digital heritage. Social implications The study highlights the importance of preserving South Africa’s digital cultural heritage, which holds value for both present and future generations. Ensuring the authenticity, accessibility, and long-term sustainability of digital records is crucial for fostering a sense of national identity, supporting historical research and promoting inclusivity in cultural representation. By improving digital preservation practices, these repositories can serve as reliable resources for education, cultural engagement and community empowerment, ultimately strengthening social cohesion and collective memory in South Africa. Originality/value This study provides a comprehensive evaluation of digital repository compliance within South Africa, a context marked by unique infrastructural and resource constraints. The recommendations offer a foundation for addressing gaps in repository management and contribute to the broader discourse on sustainable digital preservation.

Unveiling BIM Core: Enhancing Long-Term Usability of Digital Building Documentation with an Advanced Representation Information Repository

The long-term usability of digital building documentation is essential for the maintenance and optimization of infrastructure portfolios. It supports the preservation of building-specific knowledge and the cultural heritage hidden within. However, having to do this throughout the entire lifecycle of a building—or even indefinitely—remains a major challenge. This is especially true for organizations responsible for large collections of digital building documents and datasets, such as public administrations or archives. In this article, we first describe the challenges and requirements associated with preservation tasks and then introduce the concept of representation information within Building Information Modeling (BIM) and all types of related data and documents. This type of information is important to give meaning to the stored bit sequences for a particular community. We then design a repository for representation information and propose some 23 so-called BIM Core content elements. Finally, we focus on BIM and the construction sector and explain how the proposed repository can be used to implement the two concepts introduced in the ISO reference model Open Archival Information System (OAIS), namely the representation information and the context information, as well as the concept of significant properties, which has not yet been explicitly modeled in OAIS.

An empirical examination of data reuser trust in a digital repository

AbstractMost studies of trusted digital repositories have focused on the internal factors delineated in the Open Archival Information System (OAIS) Reference Model—organizational structure, technical infrastructure, and policies, procedures, and processes. Typically, these factors are used during an audit and certification process to demonstrate a repository can be trusted. The factors influencing a repository's designated community of users to trust it remains largely unexplored. This article proposes and tests a model of trust in a data repository and the influence trust has on users' intention to continue using it. Based on analysis of 245 surveys from quantitative social scientists who published research based on the holdings of one data repository, findings show three factors are positively related to data reuser trust—integrity, identification, and structural assurance. In turn, trust and performance expectancy are positively related to data reusers' intentions to return to the repository for more data. As one of the first studies of its kind, it shows the conceptualization of trusted digital repositories needs to go beyond high‐level definitions and simple application of the OAIS standard. Trust needs to encompass the complex trust relationship between designated communities of users that the repositories are being built to serve.

National archival platform system design using the microservice-based service computing system engineering framework

Archives play a vital function concerning the dynamics of people and nations as an instrument to treasure information in diverse domains of politics, society, economics, culture, science, and technology. The acceleration of digital transformation triggers the implementation of a smart government that supports better public services. The smart government encourages a national archival system to facilitate archive producers and users. The four electronic-based government system (SPBE) factors in the archival sector and open archival information system (OAIS) as a data preservation standard are the benchmarks in developing this study's national archival platform system. An improved service computing system engineering (SCSE) framework adapted to the microservice architecture is used to aid the design of the national archival platform system. The proposed design met the four-factor service design validation of coupling, cohesion, complexity, and reusability. Also, the prototype suggests what resources are needed to put the design into action by passing the performance test of availability measurement.

National archival platform system design using the microservice-based service computing system engineering framework

Archives play a vital function concerning the dynamics of people and nations as an instrument to treasure information in diverse domains of politics, society, economics, culture, science, and technology. The acceleration of digital transformation triggers the implementation of a smart government that supports better public services. The smart government encourages a national archival system to facilitate archive producers and users. The four electronic-based government system (SPBE) factors in the archival sector and open archival information system (OAIS) as a data preservation standard are the benchmarks in developing this study's national archival platform system. An improved service computing system engineering (SCSE) framework adapted to the microservice architecture is used to aid the design of the national archival platform system. The proposed design met the four-factor service design validation of coupling, cohesion, complexity, and reusability. Also, the prototype suggests what resources are needed to put the design into action by passing the performance test of availability measurement.

Проблемы и перспективы организации долговременного сохранения цифрового культурного наследия

Long-term digital preservation aims to ensure that the digital content of traditional socio-cultural insti-tutions (libraries, museums, archives, etc.) remains accessible to user communities for a long period of time and for future generations. The article considers the problems and prospects of organizing long-term digital storage of electronic information resources. It is proposed to use for solving the problems of long-term digital preservation approaches focused on the reference model of the open archival information system (OAIS), de-scribed in the ISO 14721:2012 standard. To describe events/actions with a document during archival storage, it is proposed to use the PREMIS metadata model.

Transformações dos Pacotes de Informação na Cadeia de Custódia Digital Arquivística

This study synthesizes knowledge about the transformations of the information package of the Open Archival Information System (OAIS)model, within the scope of aChain of Custody for Digital Archives (CCDA). Thus, the importance of the file system being composed of management, preservation and access platforms is discussed. The methodology is based on a survey of previously published materials, including: books, technical publications and articles from scientific journals. The analysis of the collected data consists of a triangulation between Archival Science, the OAIS model and the CCDA. The discussion uses deductive logics, which results in an unsystematic review article. Finally, it is argued that establishing a CCDA will allow the transformations of the OAIS information package to be carried out by a reliable custodian capable of ensuring the maintenance of the authenticity and the preservation of digital archival records in the long term.

Towards a COST MOBILISE Guideline for Long Term Preservation and Archiving of Data Constructs from Scientific Collections Facilities

COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) is a funding organisation for research and innovation networks. One of the objectives of the COSTAction called “Mobilising Data, Policies and Experts in Scientific Collections“ (MOBILISE) is to work on documents for expert training with broad involvement of professionals from the participating European countries. The guideline presented here in its general concept will address principles, strategies and standards for long term preservation and archiving of data constructs (data packages, data products) as addressed by and under control of the scientific collections community. The document is being developed as part of the MOBILISE Action targeted towards primarily scientific staff at natural scientific collection facilities, as well as management bodies of collections like museums, herbaria and information technology personnel less familiar with data archiving principles and routines. The challenges of big data storage and (distributed, cloud-based) storage solutions as well as that of data mirroring, backing up, synchronisation and publication in productive data environments are well addressed by documents, guidelines and online platforms, e.g., in the DISSCo knowledge base (see Hardisty et al. (2020)) and as part of concepts of the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC). Archival processes and the resulting data constructs, however, are often left outside of the considerations. This is a large gap because archival issues are not only simple technical ones as addressed by the term “bit preservation” but also envisage a number of logical, functional, normative, administrative and semantic issues as addressed by the term “functional long-term archiving”. The main target digital object types addressed by this COST MOBILISE Guideline are data constructs called Digital or Digital Extended Specimens and data products with the persistent identifier assignment lying under the authority of scientific collections facilities. Such digital objects are specified according to the Digital Object Architecture (DOA , see Wittenburg et al. 2018) and similar abstract models introduced by Harjes et al. (2020) and Lannom et al. (2020). The scientific collection-specific types are defined following evolving concepts in the context of the Consortium of European Taxonomic Facilities (CETAF), the research infrastructure DiSSCo (Distributed System of Scientific Collections), and the Biodiversity Information Standards (TDWG). Archival processes are described following the OAIS (Open Archival Information System) reference model. The archived objects should be reusable in the sense of the FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) guiding principles. Organisations like national (digital) archives, computing or professional (domain-specific) data centers as well as libraries might offer specific archiving services and act as partner organisations of scientific collections facilities. The guideline consists of key messages that have been defined. They address the collection community, especially the staff and leadership of taxonomic facilities. Aspects of several groups of stakeholders are discussed as well as cost models. The guideline does not recommend specific solutions for archiving software and workflows. Supplementary information is delivered via a wiki-based platform for the COST MOBILISE Archiving Working Group WG4.

Preservation for diverse users: digital preservation and the “Designated Community” at the Ontario Jewish Archives

PurposeConventional approaches to digital preservation posit that archives should define a Designated Community, or future user group, for whom they preserve digital information. Archivists can then use their knowledge of these users as a reference to help them deliver digital information that is intelligible and usable. However, this approach is challenging for archives with mandates to serve wide and diverse audiences; these archives risk undermining their efforts by focusing on the interests of a narrow user group.Design/methodology/approachA unique approach to this challenge was developed in the context of a project to build a digital preservation program at the Ontario Jewish Archives (OJA). It draws from previous research on this topic and is based on a combination of practical and theoretical considerations.FindingsThe approach described here replaces the reference of a Designated Community with three core components: a re-articulation of the Open Archival Information System (OAIS) mandatory responsibilities; the identification of three distinct tiers of access for digital records; and the implementation of an access portal that allows digital records to be accessed and rendered online. Together with supplemental shifts in reference points, they provide an alternative to the concept of a Designated Community in the determination of preservation requirements, the identification of significant properties, the creation of Representation Information and in the evaluation of success.Originality/valueThis article contributes a novel approach to the ongoing conversation about the Designated Community in digital preservation, its application and its limitations in an archival context.

Fitness for Use of Data Objects Described with Quality Maturity Matrix at Different Phases of Data Production

Fitness for use information should be stored to enable easy identification of data objects that are suitable for re-use – a feature which can only be assessed by the data user. With the described Quality Maturity Matrix (QMM), we want to provide a metric for a discrete measurement of the fitness for use of data objects. We use the data maturity to describe the degree of formalization and standardization of the data with respect to the quality of data and metadata. The data objects mature as they pass through the different post-production steps where they undergo different curation measures. The higher the maturity and the level in the QMM, the easier is it for the user to judge the appropriateness of the data for a possible re-use. For our development of the Quality Maturity Matrix we link the maturity levels to the five phases concept, production/processing, project collaboration/intended use, long-term archiving, and impact re-use. Each of the five levels is measured with regard to the four criteria consistency, completeness, accessibility, and accuracy. For the description we use the terms of the Open Archival Information System (OAIS). We relate our data focused QMM to some existing maturity matrices which put the focus on the maturity of the curation process rather than of the data objects themselves. In addition, we make an attempt to establish a connection between the QMM criteria of data assessment and the FAIR Data principles.

Diversity, Inclusion, and Digital Preservation

We have learned from the debate on diversity and inclusion that archiving is not neutral or unbiased even though it is presented in this way. Seen from the perspective of cultural humility, we need to keep learning and challenge power imbalances from both the individual and the organizational level. This article discusses what this means for digital preservation concepts.

Design of an Enhanced Web Archiving System for Preserving Content Integrity with Blockchain

A Web archive system is a traditional subject for preserving web content for the future and the importance is getting more significant due to the explosive growth of web content. The reference model for an open archival information system (OAIS) has been advising guidance for a long-term archiving system and most organizations that archive web content follow this guidance. In addition, the web archive (WARC) ISO standard is for web content archiving. However, there is no way to secure content integrity, and it is hard to identify the original. Because of limitations, a web archive system has a weakness against the dispute of content integrity. In this paper, we proposed the blockchain linked (BCLinked) web archiving system, which uses blockchain technology and an extended WARC field to keep a web content integrity metadata into a blockchain. Furthermore, we designed the BCLinked web archiving system, and we confirmed the proposed system secures content integrity through the experiment.

Factors that influence digital preservation sustainability in academic libraries in South Africa

This study investigated the factors that can inform the implementation of sustainable digital preservation in academic libraries, with a view to developing a conceptual preservation model applicable to these institutions. The survey research design was used, underpinned by a quantitative research method and guided by a conceptual framework. Online survey questionnaires were emailed to all twenty-seven academic libraries in South Africa. The findings show that academic libraries in South Africa are significantly affected by the changes in the digital environment. Most of these institutions are faced with many challenges as they attempt to preserve their digital content, including a lack of institutional commitment and involvement; absence of established digital preservation standards, policies and procedures; inadequate resources; lack of skills and training; lack of funding; limited collaboration efforts and partnerships; and technological obsolescence. This study recommends that these institutions can address many of their digital preservation challenges if they leverage these factors. The study proposes a conceptual model for preservation of digital resources in academic libraries, mapped with the Open Archival Information System (OAIS) reference model.

FAIR digital objects in environmental and life sciences should comprise workflow operation design data and method information for repeatability of study setups and reproducibility of results.

Repeatability of study setups and reproducibility of research results by underlying data are major requirements in science. Until now, abstract models for describing the structural logic of studies in environmental sciences are lacking and tools for data management are insufficient. Mandatory for repeatability and reproducibility is the use of sophisticated data management solutions going beyond data file sharing. Particularly, it implies maintenance of coherent data along workflows. Design data concern elements from elementary domains of operations being transformation, measurement and transaction. Operation design elements and method information are specified for each consecutive workflow segment from field to laboratory campaigns. The strict linkage of operation design element values, operation values and objects is essential. For enabling coherence of corresponding objects along consecutive workflow segments, the assignment of unique identifiers and the specification of their relations are mandatory. The abstract model presented here addresses these aspects, and the software DiversityDescriptions (DWB-DD) facilitates the management of thusly connected digital data objects and structures. DWB-DD allows for an individual specification of operation design elements and their linking to objects. Two workflow design use cases, one for DNA barcoding and another for cultivation of fungal isolates, are given. To publish those structured data, standard schema mapping and XML-provision of digital objects are essential. Schemas useful for this mapping include the Ecological Markup Language, the Schema for Meta-omics Data of Collection Objects and the Standard for Structured Descriptive Data. Data pipelines with DWB-DD include the mapping and conversion between schemas and functions for data publishing and archiving according to the Open Archival Information System standard. The setting allows for repeatability of study setups, reproducibility of study results and for supporting work groups to structure and maintain their data from the beginning of a study. The theory of ‘FAIR++’ digital objects is introduced.

Auditoria de repositórios arquivísticos digitais confiáveis

Este estudo discute a implementação de repositórios arquivísticos em conformidade com o Sistema Aberto para Arquivamento de Informação e a necessidade de auditá-los para avaliar sua confiabilidade. Para tanto, realiza-se um levantamento bibliográfico de materiais previamente publicados, com seleção de: livros que abordam as perspectivas da Arquivística na era digital e o desafio da custódia documental confiável; publicações técnicas como as normas International Organization for Standardization e padrões de auditoria; e artigos científicos recuperados pela ferramenta de pesquisa Google Scholar, com busca temática relacionada à preservação de documentos arquivísticos digitais, repositórios digitais confiáveis, auditoria de informação e auditoria arquivística. O repositório arquivístico é o prisma da discussão, já a comparação entre os padrões de auditoria torna-se a categoria norteadora, logo, obtém-se um artigo de revisão assistemática. Dessa forma, são analisados os padrões de auditoria: Trustworthy Repository Audit & Certification: Criteria and Checklist, Catalogue of Criteria for Trusted Digital Repositories da Network of Expertise in long-term STORage, Digital Repository Audit Method Based on Risk Assessment e Audit and Certification of Trustworthy Digital Repositories. Por fim, o comparativo entre os padrões demonstra que o Audit and Certification of Trustworthy Digital Repositories é o mais indicado para auditar os repositórios arquivísticos digitais.

Digital Preservation and Presentation of Institution Photo Archives: the Anhui University Memory Project Experience

Institution photo archives are important digital resource with a large proportion of old photos, which makes them of great value in aspects of history and culture. Based on OAIS (Open Archival Information System) Model, the Anhui University Memory Project (AMP) designed and realized a Long-term Preservation Process, which included a series of standard procedures for lifecycle management. Then digital resource repository and digital memory site were developed according to demands of Anhui University for constructing and presenting memory. This paper aims to introduce the architecture and achievements of AMP, as well as the design and implementation of long-term preservation process and two distinctive ways of resource organization and memory presentation.

File Format Migration as Digital Preservation Strategy – A Report on Practical Experiences

The Open Archive Information System reference model is a first solution for handling the big number of digital documents. With startext SORI we created a ready-to-use software, based on the OAIS model. So files get prepared for the future, but like every model, there are still aspects to improve.

Microservices in Audiovisual Archives

This document describes and examines strategies for designing lightweight microservice environments for the processing of digital, file-based, audiovisual data within an archive. The document presumes an overview understanding of the Reference Model for an Open Archival Information System (OAIS). The document also makes references to programming archival routines in command languages, but seeks to provide examples in pseudo-code rather than favoring any particular computer language. Since the document intends to focus on archival routines for audiovisual content, an introduction to ffmpeg can be helpful.
 Additionally, this document does not intend to purport to be a standard for the design of audiovisual microservices but seeks to contribute to and build upon the work and dialogue of many audiovisual archives that has been exploring and successfully implementing microservices in audiovisual archives; see in particularly the compiled, collaborative documentation at https://github.com/amiaopensource/open-workflows.

Long-Term Reusability of Biodiversity and Collection Data using a National Federated Data Infrastructure

GFBio “German Federation for Biological Data” is a data infrastructure and network set up by several research institutions in Germany. It fosters archiving and long-term reusability of research data and provides open and free access via a joint web portal at www.gfbio.org. As part of the working procedures data are semantically enriched and provided via a visualization and analysis tool. The main aim of the infrastructure is to make research data from the biological domain reusable and accessible on the long run following FAIR principles. In order to achieve this, several workflows and best practices have been established. The archiving of biodiversity and collection research data follows the reference model (ISO 14721) for an Open Archival Information System (OAIS). The challenges for making data reusable is on the one hand the heterogeneity of this data, on the other hand the often implicit but differing semantics making data integration a hard and difficult process. The use of data management plans is one approach we run to face and solve the challenges. Data management plans contain recipes about the research data, the tools used to acquire data, the content- and exchange formats, the metadata required to describe the data, and finally the costs and resources needed by data providers to deliver structured “Submission Information Packages” (SIPs) in the sense of OAIS. The archiving of a data package as “Archival Information Package” (AIP) is not sufficient to make it reusable in the future. Changes in the semantic meaning over time (content obsolescence), changes in the formats (format obsolescence), and changes in the technology of storage media (hardware obsolescence) are the major factors to be considered here. According to the FAIR principles and to our understanding data is best preserved if it is visible and available for use. The biodiversity and collection data centers involved in GFBio therefore have a curation layer (cf. management aka OAIS) in the archiving pipeline assembling their in-house management systems for sample and observation data and their asset management systems for all kinds of multimedia. This layer allows a continuous quality control and review of the incoming information packages. Thus, data providers can continuously maintain their data if wished for. The data are stored as AIPs sensu OAIS at the specialized data centers and are accessed by GFBio's core system. Dissemination Information Packages (DIPs) can be generated continuously at every time from the data and disseminated using content standards for data and metadata, like EML, ABCD and MIxS. Data are available via the GFBio website and in parallel using other web portals from the biological domain, e.g. INSDC and GBIF. The GFBio data centers now strive for certification of their archiving processes using the Core Trust Seal and for the certification of the FAIRness of single data records. Established data flows and documentation on best practices are available under: www.gfbio.org/data-centers.

Blockchain-Based Trusted Electronic Records Preservation in Cloud Storage

Cloud storage represents the trend of intensive, scale and specialization of information technology, which has changed the technical architecture and implementation method of electronic records management. Moreover, it will provide a convenient way to generate more advanced and efficient management of the electronic data records. However, in cloud storage environment, it is difficult to guarantee the trustworthiness of electronic records, which results in a series of severe challenges to electronic records management. Starting from the definition and specification of electronic records, this paper firstly analyzes the requirements of the trustworthiness in cloud storage during their long-term preservation according to the information security theory and subdivides the trustworthiness into the authenticity, integrity, usability, and reliability of electronic records in cloud storage. Moreover, this paper proposes the technology framework of preservation for trusted electronic records. Also, the technology of blockchain, proofs of retrievability, the open archival information system model and erasure code are adopted to protect these four security attributes, to guarantee the credibility of the electronic record.