1. Preserving and Sharing Digital Data Greg Colati, Director, Archives and Special Collections May 11, 2012

2. The Problem with Digital Assets Silos Separate technical systems, metadata, and organizational schemes Difficult to repurpose or share Duplication Same data in different systems out of synchronization Duplicative but not redundant storage Risk: No accurate way to understand and manage the scope and volume of digital assets No way to insure long-term availability 2

3. How Do We Manage Digital Assets? 3 http://www.dcc.ac.uk/resources/curation-lifecycle-model Digital curation in a managed environment

4. How Do We Share Digital Assets? EASY is not an attribute! Multiple audiences, casual to serious Multiple interests Multiple levels of sophistication Multiple needs No ONE delivery system can provide for all potential uses 4

5. What We Didnt Want: An integrated solution Another information silo 8

6. What We Needed: A Flexible Digital Repository Service Preservation-oriented, trustworthy digital repository Centrally managed Supports long term management of digital assets Set of services that support current and future needs Open APIs for local development Management tools Presentation tools 6

7. Repository Attributes 1. Simple and complex digital objects and relationships 2. Schema agnostic: any metadata schema allowed 3. File format agnostic: any file types allowed 4. Normalization for all metadata and supported content file types 5. Global, persistent identifiers 6. Rules-based access and management 7. Flexible presentation options 7

8. What We Needed… Independent, self-describing objects existing in a managed system with No particular administrative workflow or end-user application No particular catalog or organizational model 8

9. What We Chose Flexible Extensible Digital Object Repository Architecture (Fedora) http://fedoracommons.org/ 9

10. What Fedora is Not NOT a relational database NOT a software application NOT an integrated solution NOT an information silo 6

11. Fedora is… A generic foundation upon which many kinds of applications can be created. A conceptual framework about digital information and relationships 11

12. Repository-based Activities Repository (Preservation) Layer Management Layer Presentation (Access) Layer Access, Discovery, Authentication, Authorization Curation Activities; Administrative, Descriptive, Technical, Rights, etc., Metadata Mgmt. Information Universe Re-use and exchange Policies, Controls, Preservation Activities Digital Objects Metadata Fedora 12

13. Current Project Calendar Phase I: Establish and implement core functions (July, 2012) Phase II: Advanced tools and services, develop storage and hardware requirements for production system (January, 2013) Phase III: Implementation of v1.0 production release for UConn content. (July, 2013) 13

14. Extending the Model: A Statewide Repository Service

15. Repository Organization 15

16. Management Layer Presentation (Access) Layer Information Universe Re-use and exchange Digital Objects Metadata Management: UConn UConn Partner Framework Repository (Preservation) Layer Policies, Controls, Preservation Activities UConn Repository PartnerOthers… External aggregators and direct links Management: OthersManagement: Partner 16

17. Durable Content, Shareable Data 17 Data Center Data UConn Data Cultural Heritage Data Other Digital Data State Pubs/archives

18. Pay for Services/Storage … Cost-recovery on an as-yet-to-be-determined model. Potential approaches include: Membership ($/year based on a formula) Subscription ($/GB/year) POSF (Pay Once Store Forever) Other approaches or a combination of approaches are possible. Sustainability Model (In Development) 18

19. Governance Model (In Development) …Volunteer your time Advisory Committee made up of participating organizations Reviews development plan for infrastructure and services Suggests funding opportunities Creates working groups for specific areas and tasks SLAs created between the repository and UConn units document rights and responsibilities. MOUs created between UConn and participating organizations document ownership, rights, and responsibilities. 19

20. Challenges Ahead Secure development funding for statewide services Find partner institutions Current partners include: UConn State Library State Data Center (MAGIC) Connecticut History Online (CHO) Develop a sustainable governance and funding model 20

21. Interested? Greg Colati Director, Archives and Special Collections gregory.colati@uconn.edu 860-486-4501 Trylon and Perisphere graphic from the Hagley Library and Museum http://www.hagley.org/hagley-wf-02-rgb.jpg 21