Digital Preservation Tools and Services

Introduction

There are now many different digital stewardship tools, services, specifications and related resources available.  Some have been around for a years, others a brand new.  I have identified those that I know about in this list. Included are tools and services that:

• Have a principle purpose to support the long-term preservation of or access to digital information
• Have an orientation toward practical implementation (no research projects, conceptual models, frameworks, policy guidance, etc.)
• Have a public URL that provides current information
• Appear to be currently functional, maintained and in broad use.

This is a work in progress, and I will be adding and refining information over time.  Please pass on any suggestions for new items along with comments for revisions.

List of Digital Preservation Tools and Services

Repository services
Note: There are too many individual institutional repositories to list here–I’ve listed only a few outstanding examples.

• Duracloud: Provides services that enable digital preservation, data access, transformation, and data sharing using cloud storage providers.
• e-Depot: National Library of the Netherlands digital archiving environment that ensures long-term access to digital objects.
• ICPSR (Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research): University of Michigan social science data archive.
• Merritt: University of California Curation Center repository service.
• MetaArchive: Distributed preservation service.
• National Digital Heritage Archive: National Library of New Zealand digital preservation solution.
• OCLC Digital Archive: Service for preserving and providing access to digital content.
• Portico: Preservation service for electronic literature.
• Washington State Digital Archives.  Service preserves state and local government digital records.

Repository systems

• Archivematica: Software based on concept of micro-services.
• DAITSS (Dark Archive in the Sunshine State): Implements forward format migration and normalization as preservation strategies.
• DSPS (Digital Preservation Software Platform): National Archives of Australia collection of software applications which support the goal of digital preservation.
• DSpace: Enables open sharing of content that spans organizations, continents and time (See also http://www.duraspace.org).
• Fedora (Flexible Extensible Digital Object Repository Architecture): Manage, preserve, link digital content. (See also http://www.duraspace.org).
• Hoppla (Home and Office Painless Persistent Long-term Archiving): Combines back-up and fully automated migration services for data collections in small office environments.
• iRods (Integrated Rule-Oriented Data System): Uses grid technology to manage content according to specified rules.
• LOCKSS (Lots of Copies Keep Stuff Safe): Tools and support to preserve digital content.
• RODA (Repository of Authentic Digital Objects).  Portuguese National Archives repository system supported by open-source technologies.
• Rosetta: Digital preservation system from Ex Libris developed in cooperation with the National Library of New Zealand.
• Safety Deposit Box: Commercial system from Tessella; used at the UK National Archives.

File format management utilities

• DROID (Digital Record Object Identification): Automated identification of file formats.
• ffident: Java metadata extraction / file format identification library.
• FITS (File Information Tool Set): Identifies, validates, and extracts technical metadata for various file formats; uses JHOVE, DROID and other tools.
• JHOVE (JSTOR/Harvard Object Validation Environment): Provides functions to perform format-specific identification, validation, and characterization of digital objects.
• National Library of New Zealand Metadata Extraction Tool: Helps identify formats, extract preservation metadata from a range of file formats.
• XENA (XML Electronic Normalising for Archives): Detects the file formats of digital objects; converts digital objects into open formats for preservation.  Part of NAA DSPS tool suite.

File format reference

• Library of Congress Digital Formats Website: Provides information about digital content formats, including recommendations for preservation formats.
• PRONOM: Supplies technical information about the structure of those file formats, and the software products which support them.

File integrity utilities

• ACE (Audit Control Environment): Validates the integrity of digital files through mathematical techniques.
• md5deep and hashdeep: A set of programs to compute, match and audit message digests/hashets.
• Checksum Checker: Monitors the contents of a digital archive for data loss or corruption.  Part of NAA DSPS tool suite.

File transfer specifications

• BagIt:  Packaging of digital content for transfer. Content is packaged (the bag) along with a small amount of machine-readable text (the tag) to help automate the content’s receipt, storage and retrieval.
• SWORD (Simple Web-service Offering Repository Deposit):  Lightweight protocol for depositing content from one location to another.  a profile of the Atom Publishing Protocol

File transfer utilities

• BagIt Library:  Java software library that supports the creation, manipulation and validation of BagIt bags.
• BagIt Transfer Utilities: Collection of tools for validation and transfer of BagIt bags.
• GNU Wget: File transfer utility: Permits retrieval of files using HTTP, HTTPS and FTP
• Manifest Maker: Supports the transfer of data objects by producing a manifest file which satisfies the requirements for a digital transfer.  Part of NAA DSPS tool suite.

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