The Ghost in the Machine: Traditional Archival Practice in the Design of Digital Repositories for Long-Term Preservation

Abstract

This research paper explores the ways in which traditional paper-based archival principles and practices, based on the requirements of a knowledge system built on physical forms (papyrus, parchment, paper), are being applied to the development of repositories designed explicitly for the long-term preservation of digital materials. Though debate remains active, the archival community has gradually coalesced around a set of high-level principles and practices generally agreed as representative of the core values of archival activity: the sanctity of evidence; the preservation imperative; the primacy of the record; respect des fonds, original order and provenance; and hierarchy in records and their collective description. These traditional archival principles and practices are defined, then translated into digital repository architecture designs through an analysis of the Open Archival Information Systems reference model (OAIS). Areas of active research on this subject are examined in a set of case studies.

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