Contents:
- 1. History
- 2. Digital Repository Interfaces
- 3. Customization
- 4. Format Policies
- 5. Scalability
- 6. Sustainability
- 7. Conclusion
- References
This paper describes in short the first production version of Archivematica, a full-production digital preservation system, ready to be implemented, integrated with other systems, and developed further by Artefactual and community members. The authors, Peter van Garderen and Courtney Mumma of Artefactual Systems, have developed this open source preservation system, now running in various large archives in Canada and the US. Archivematica is based on the OAIS, PREMIS and METS standards.The key architectural, digital curation and sustainability challenges that the Archivematica system adresses, are discussed. This includes scalability, customization, interfaces with the repository, format policy implementation and a business plan that stays true to the ideals of the free software community. The paper concludes with the remarks that a.o. baseline requirements for system scalability will continue to be stress tested over time to allow for enhancement and improvements as new features are added. User customization options allow for flexibility in repository workflows. Each new digital repository interface will be based upon a generic version and/or API, usable beyond the sponsoring repository.This first production version of Archivematica includes some new features sponsored by client institutions, as well as features the Artefactual team considers to be essential for a full-production system. Paper was presented at iPRES 2013.
Relevant read for IT staff as well as policy employees while this paper discusses how this preservation system has come to fruition. The system reflects practical needs of the archive community, as Archivematica’s system requirements were based on an ongoing dialogue within the digital curation community about the gaps between the standards and strategies that were held up as best practice (OAIS, PREMIS, normalization, agile development and so forth) and the ability for the average archivists and librarians to implement them.