Digital preservation auditing metrics as design tools for digital repositories

Collaboration via partnership in a consortium and in outsourcing are common aspects in building and maintaining a trusted digital repository. Such collaboration is overlooked in most digital preservation auditing metrics. This not only prevents the possibility of formal certification, but not including third-party participation in the standards implies that there are no standards for negotiating contracts and delineating the roles of partners. This thesis examines the ongoing project Digital Safe, a project in development at Oxford that aims to be a service for storing confidential information. In two case studies, the author employs the Trustworthy Repositories Audit & Certification (TRAC) and the Data Seal of Approval (DSA) to inform the development of Digital Safe and its relationships with third-party vendors. The major goal is to examine how various roles between an institution and third-parties can be delegated based on the necessary standards. This is useful first for helping develop contracts with vendors and understanding exact responsibilities in partnerships. Second, it facilitates a better understanding of the limitations of current auditing metrics. The case studies reveal that both TRAC and DSA can provide a means for defining roles in partnerships, TRAC being more complex and DSA being more theoretical. Second, the documentation for audit standards is reliant on OAIS reference model, which limits their use in consortia, dark archives, and other specific repositories. The case studies also clarify the type of evidence most appropriate to have and develop in the planning stages for a digital repository. These findings point to future work in a revision of how audit standards are used, specifically indicating their use-value as development tools in addition to assessment tools. The addition of third-party support to these standards could facilitate a better guide to interacting with third parties during planning stages, and ultimately improve digital preservation standards and the trustworthiness of repositories.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.S.

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Library & Information Science

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2017

Author dc:creator

• Kinnaman, Alex Olivia

Contributors dc:contributor

• Renear, Allen H.
• Bettivia, Rhiannon

• Digital preservation
• Auditing metrics
• Trustworthy Repositories Audit & Certification (TRAC)
• Data Seal of Approval (DSA)
• Certification
• Digital preservation standards
• Repositories
• Dark archives
• Outsourcing

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2017 Alex Kinnaman

Language dc:language

en

Handle dc:identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/97517

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/97517