Reinhard Altenhöner and Tobias Steinke
This paper intends to describe activities of the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek (DNB, the German National Library) in digital preservation. Special attention is to be given to the…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper intends to describe activities of the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek (DNB, the German National Library) in digital preservation. Special attention is to be given to the long‐term preservation project kopal, but prior developments, strategic implications and future scenarios will be addressed as well.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is a narrative of the findings, that also describes the technical specification of kopal.
Findings
The current status of kopal development is presented, added by some remarks on potentials for further activities with regard to a digital preservation infrastructure.
Originality/value
Kopal has been presented in other publications. This paper describes the “strategic” value and impact of the solution, added by insights for future development.
Details
Keywords
One of the unresolved problems of the global information society is ensuring the long‐term accessibility of digital documents. The project kopal tackles this problem head‐on: in a…
Abstract
Purpose
One of the unresolved problems of the global information society is ensuring the long‐term accessibility of digital documents. The project kopal tackles this problem head‐on: in a three‐year project kopal's objective is the practical testing and implementation of a cooperatively created and operated long‐term archival system for digital resources.
Design/methodology/approach
The system will be implemented in accordance with international standards for long‐term archiving and metadata within the Open Archival Information System (OAIS) framework. The project partners, Die Deutsche Bibliothek (DDB), Göttingen State and University Library (SUB Göttingen), IBM Deutschland GmbH and the Gesellschaft für wissenschaftliche Datenverarbeitung mbH Göttingen (GWDG), will establish a cooperatively transferable solution for cultural heritage institutions, as well as for business and industry.
Findings
Within the project, the project partners DDB and SUB Göttingen are developing software for the input and access of data, which will be released under an open‐source license.
Research limitations/implications
Long‐term preservation methods and strategies will be discussed in general in the paper.
Practical implications
The project will present a stable and reusable platform for additional partners and users, especially for cultural heritage organisations.
Originality/value
The solution is based on Digital Information and Archiving System (DIAS), jointly devised by IBM and the National Library of The Netherlands in The Hague, and it will be adapted to the needs of the project with several extensions. Establishing a collaborative solution for long‐term preservation is a milestone in the development of systems for the long‐term availability of digital objects.
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To share with readers the issues of an international conference.Design/methodology/approach – A brief review of the conference held in Germany, 7‐9 February 2006.
Abstract
Purpose
To share with readers the issues of an international conference.Design/methodology/approach – A brief review of the conference held in Germany, 7‐9 February 2006.
Findings
The conference focused on the future of information services in the digital world. Speakers from eight countries discussed joint strategies and transnational networks for academic libraries, innovative information services, and future challenges for academic libraries. Three hands‐on workshops reported on current projects in the fields of long‐term archiving, institutional repositories and marketing approaches in the library context.
Originality/value
Will be of interest to library and information professionals.
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Keywords
The purpose of this article is to discuss the importance of, and problems with, interoperability along long term digital archiving systems.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this article is to discuss the importance of, and problems with, interoperability along long term digital archiving systems.
Design/methodology/approach
The article reviews the literature about interoperability and takes an engineering‐oriented look at implementation within the LuKII project. It also draws heavily on actual experience in the LuKII (LOCKSS und KOPAL Infrastructure und Interoperabilität) project.
Findings
The need for interoperation is well established, but the implementation requires significant technical work to define and test key aspects of interoperability.
Originality/value
The need for interoperation among digital archiving systems is very much there, but achieving it is hard. Systems built at different times and along different principles require a degree of reengineering that can test the skills (and sometimes the patience) of the creators. Interoperability also requires fresh thinking about how archiving systems can reasonably measure important abstract concepts like integrity and authenticity.