Digital Preservation through Cooperation: LOCKSS

Gail McMillanDigital Library and Archives, University Libraries

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

VIVA Steering Committee and SCHEV LACVirginia State University

June 10, 2005

Libraries: Collections, not just Links

• Libraries should own, as well as manage, their digital collections, including– Content currently leased: VIVA examples

• BioOne, Cambridge Uni. Press, Nature Publishing Group, Project Muse • See http://lockss.stanford.edu/about/titles.htm

– LOCKSS prevents the publisher from revoking access rights to back content

– Open-access web resources, for example• Abbey's Web: Provides links to biographical information,

bibliographies, articles, and other resources about the environmental writer, Edward Abbey: http://www.abbeyweb.net/

LOCKSS BasicsLibrary uses inexpensive computer and free software

• Programmatically collects content from publisher

• Preserves content among LOCKSS servers – Periodically audits content and repairs as needed from other

LOCKSS servers

• Disseminates content to library’s appropriate users– Host library’s readers see the content from publisher’s URL

– Unless it isn’t available from there • It is delivered from the reader’s library’s LOCKSS-preserved content.

• It doesn’t look any different.

LOCKSS and EJournals

• Library (consortium) negotiates with publishers• Publishers trust LOCKSS

– Collections begin with subscriptions, not retrospectively– Libraries have access to their collections in perpetuity– Outside the appropriate user community, access only to audit and

repair files

• Low cost to administer and run– Less than 1 hour per month– 95% of systems patched in 48hrs

• Low storage costs: 2003: $0.70 = one year, one journal, ~0.5GB

600MHz-128MB RAM-Bootable CD drive-Floppy disk drive

One PC holds >3,000 years of an average electronic journal (2005)

LOCKSS software turns a PC into a preservation tool

LOCKSS and Publishers

• Suggested license language permits libraries to– Collect and preserve currently accessible materials, i.e., subscription-based content– Use materials consistent with original license terms– Provide copies to others for purposes of audit and repair

Review of Writing and Photography of Appalachia

LOCKSS is for more than just ejournals

• MetaArchive of Southern Digital Culture • ETDs: Electronic Theses and Dissertations

– ASERL: Association of SouthEastern Research Libraries

• 9/11 web sites -- NYPL• Newspapers -- University of Utah• Government Documents

NDIIPP National Digital Information Infrastructure and

Preservation Program

• Created by federal legislation in December 2000• Support preservation of significant “born-digital”

content at risk• Three areas of focus

– Network of preservation partners: Clear instructions from legislators that LC should work with others

– Architectural framework for preservation– Digital preservation research

Key Features of a Secure MetaArchive

1. Distributed preservation strategy2. Flexible organizational model3. Formal content selection process 4. Capability for migrating archives5. Dim archiving strategy6. Low cost to deployment7. Self-Sustaining incentives 8. Simple preservation exchange mechanisms with

the Library of Congress

MetaArchive Project Goals

1. Create a conspectus of digital content within the subject domain held by the partner sites

2. Harvested body of the most critical content to be preserved (3 terabytes, w/ capability to expand)

3. Develop a model cooperative agreement for ongoing collaboration and sustainability

4. Distributed preservation network infrastructure based on the LOCKSS software

MetaArchive’s CLOCKSS (Collecting Lots of Copies Keeps Stuff Safe)

• Diversifying LOCKSS– Software , hardware, collections, communities

• Study problems– Dynamic content– Format migration (next grant)

• Cooperative agreement model– Not only an effective preservation network for

one body of digital content, but enable the creation of many others for this important purpose.

http://www.lockss.org