Trusted Digital Repositories

TDR is presented in five sections plus appendices and back matter.

TDR Contents
1. Trusted Digital Repositories
2. Attributes of a TDR
3. Responsibilities of a TDR
4. Certification of TDR
5. Summary and Recommendations
Appendices:
A. OAIS Technical Overview
B. The Evolution of “Trust” in Computing Systems
C. Operational Responsibilities Checklist
Glossary
Selected Resources

 

Highlights to note:
>>The discussions of trust in Section 1 and in Appendix B are very useful. A digital archive can just declare itself to be trustworthy and expect its potential stakeholders (depositors, researchers, funders, etc.) to accept that designation. But trust is built over time, and a trustworthy digital archive must continue to meet specified requirements to remain trustworthy. These sections are closely related to the need for certification of a digital archive.
>>Section 2 of the TDR document defines the attributes of a trusted digital repository. We find the greatest value in the attributes section, but we are not intending to suggest that you should overlook the other sections.
>>Section 3 on responsibilities identifies essential organizational, curatorial, and operational responsibilities. Some of them are discussed in Tutorial Section 5, but you should read through the complete list and consider how each fits in the context of your organization.
>>The certification discussion in Section 4 is one of the earliest sources on this topic. An ISO standards development project builds on a series of recent initatives to establish audit and certification protocols for digital repositories."
>>The recommendations in Section 5 may be seen as a high-level agenda for the digital preservation community for the near-term. The recommendations cover a range of key topics: certification, requisite tools, cooperative models, comprehensive archival system design and development, intellectual property rights, preservation strategies, and metadata.
>>The overview of OAIS in Appendix A may provide an entry point for a more in-depth reading of the document. It should not be a substitute for reading the full OAIS document, however.
>>The checklist in Appendix C is a concise summary of operational responsibilities.