Affiliations: The Royal Library of Denmark , P O Box 2149 DK-1016 Copenhagen K. [email protected] | School of Conservation, Esplanaden 34 DK-1263 Copenhagen K. [email protected]
Abstract: This paper explores how independent institutions such as archives and libraries can cooperate on managing a shared bit repository with bit preservation in order to use their resources for preservation in a more cost-effective way. It uses the Open Archival Information System (OAIS) reference model to provide a framework for systematically analysing institutions’ technical and organizational requirements for a remote bit repository. Instead of viewing a bit repository simply as archival storage for the institutions, repositories, we argue for viewing it as consisting of a subset of functions from all entities defined by the OAIS reference model. The work is motivated by and used in a current Danish feasibility study for establishing a national bit repository. The study revealed that, depending on their missions and the collections they hold, the institutions have varying requirements, for example, for bit safety, accessibility, and confidentiality. This study furthermore revealed that requirements for the level of bit safety must be supplemented by risk analysis, which needs to involve elements of the architecture, for example, the number of copies and how independence between the copies is ensured. The paper describes the bit repository architecture and its strengths in being fl exible in order to offer differentiated services with respect to, among other things, bit safety and cost. Furthermore, the challenges in formulating, for example, risk requirements are described.
Keywords: OAIS reference model, bit preservation, preservation level, risk analysis, bit repository
