Safety in Numbers: Distributed Digital Preservation Networks

UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Martin Halbert (Creator)
Institution
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/

Abstract: It has long been recognized that there is safety in numbers and that redundancy enhancessurvivability. This principle has been applied in many spheres of human activity, fromengineering to military science. It is now being applied in librarianship and digital preservation,through the creation of distributed digital preservation (DDP) networks using the open-sourceLOCKSS (“Lots of Copies Keep Stuff Safe”) software. This paper describes two PrivateLOCKSS Networks (PLNs) based in North America: the MetaArchive Cooperative, aninternational preservation network serving more than 50 member institutions in the U.S., Brazil,Spain, and the U.K.; and the Alabama Digital Preservation Network (ADPNet), a state-basedpreservation network serving academic libraries, public libraries, and the state archives inAlabama. The paper argues that PLNs offer a technologically robust, administrativelymanageable, and economically sustainable way to protect digital assets and ensure thecontinuity of digital libraries in the face of natural and man-made disasters.

Additional Information

Publication
Proceedings of the IFLA World Library and Information Congress, 78th IFLA General Conference and Assembly, 11-17 August 2012, Helsinki, Finland.
Language: English
Date: 2012
Keywords
Distributed Digital Preservation, DDP, LOCKSS, MetaArchive Cooperative , Alabama Digital Preservation Network, ADPNet, Libraries

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