Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
The term “Open” in OAIS is used to imply that the standard, as well
as future related standards, are developed in open forums, and it does
not mean that it only applies to open access archives.
The information being maintained has been deemed to need Long Term
Preservation, even if the OAIS itself is not permanent. Long Term is long enough to
be concerned with the impacts of changing technologies, including support for new
media and data formats, or with a changing user community. Long Term may extend
indefinitely. In the reference model there is a particular focus on digital informa-
tion, both as the primary forms of information held and as supporting information
for both digitally and physically archived materials. Therefore, the model accom-
modates information that is inherently non-digital (e.g., a physical sample), but the
modelling and preservation of such information is not addressed in detail. The OAIS
reference model says it:
•
provides a framework for the understanding and increased awareness of
archival concepts needed for Long Term digital information preservation and
access;
•
provides the concepts needed by non-archival organizations to be effective
participants in the preservation process;
•
provides a framework, including terminology and concepts, for describing and
comparing architectures and operations of existing and future archives;
•
provides a framework for describing and comparing different Long Term
Preservation strategies and techniques;
•
provides a basis for comparing the data models of digital information preserved
by archives and for discussing how data models and the underlying information
may change over time;
•
provides a framework that may be expanded by other efforts to cover Long Term
Preservation of information that is NOT in digital form (e.g., physical media and
physical samples);
•
expands consensus on the elements and processes for Long Term digital infor-
mation preservation and access, and promotes a larger market which vendors can
support;
•
guides the identification and production of OAIS-related standards.
The reference model addresses a full range of archival information preservation
functions including ingest, archival storage, data management, access, and dis-
semination. It also addresses the migration of digital information to new media
and forms, the data models used to represent the information, the role of soft-
ware in information preservation, and the exchange of digital information among
archives. It identifies both internal and external interfaces to the archive functions,
and it identifies a number of high-level services at these interfaces. It provides
