metaarchive cooperative: a collaborative model for digital preservation

Katherine SkinnerExecutive Director, Educopia InstituteProgram Manager, MetaArchive Cooperative

An Age of Discovery, ARL-CNIWashington D.C.Friday, October 16, 2009

Why do we need to collaborate?What are some basic principles of

collaborative networking?What do they look like in practice?

MetaArchive Cooperative

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Collections Books, journals, newspapers, unique

items, etc.Services

Building, disseminating, and preserving collections▪ Once solitary; now defies such boundaries▪ Competition vs. collaboration issue▪ Viability at stake

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Adjust to a more collaborative mindset to accomplish two preservation goals:1. To preserve the digital collections we create▪ Maintain integrity so that we can continue to

access both “born digital” and digitized materials

2. To preserve our own institutional missions▪ Outsourcing a core mission is a dangerous

proposition

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Collaborative Network: An association of autonomous entities collaborating to achieve common or compatible goals.

Source: Wikipedia.org

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FLEXIBILITY FRAGILITY

Enables communities to work together on a common solution to a common problem

Demands attention to organizational structure in order to work

Requires three key elements: A common cause Solid institutional buy-in Attention to the organizational arrangement that governs the

partnershipsMetaArchive - ARL-CNI 2009 - 10/16/09 6

Management of… Accountability

How do you allocate responsibility and tasks Legitimacy

How do you assure members of your clout and value Conflict

How do you settle disputes and issues of authority Commitment

What carrots can you use for enticement and motivation Design

How do you set up and maintain your management structure (distributed, centralized)

Source: Milward and Provan. A Manager's Guide to Choosing and Using Collaborative Networks, 2006

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A distributed digital preservation cooperative for digital archives, based on LOCKSS

Founded in 2003; supported by combination of sponsored funding (NDIIPP, NHPRC), consulting fees, and membership fees

Provides digital preservation infrastructure and training and models to enable other groups to establish similar networks

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12 US Members+ Lib. of Congress

2 Overseas Members

Auburn University Boston College Clemson University Emory University Florida State Univ. Folger Shakespeare

Lib. Georgia Tech Pontifícia

Universidade Católica Rice University

Univ. of Hull Univ. of Louisville Univ. of North Texas Univ. of South

Carolina Virginia Tech

Library of Congress NDLTD SDSC

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CollectionsTechnical InfrastructureOrganizational Infrastructure

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Format-agnostic solutionSubject- and genre-based archives

Southern Digital Culture Electronic Theses and Dissertations TransAtlantic Slave Trade Early Modern Literature Newspapers (coming soon)

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MetaArchive provides a cost-effective cooperative structure: secure distributed digital preservation of

archives based on re-use of LOCKSS for archives

Network participation as a MetaArchive-LOCKSS cache is simple and cheapMetaArchive - ARL-CNI 2009 - 10/16/09 1

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Preservation solution needed a long-term, sustainable infrastructure Question arose: Who’s in charge of a Cooperative

of peer institutions? Sought guidance

legal team, librarians, archivists, and IP specialists

Created core structure in 2006: charter, membership agreement, papers of

incorporation, business plans, etc.MetaArchive - ARL-CNI 2009 - 10/16/09 1

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Separating the administrative apparatus and member institutions

provides a clear line of leadership and responsibility

helps to keep any one member’s goals from unduly influencing the cooperative’s direction

gives leverage for external partnerships

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reducing our short- and long-term costs Investing in a commonly-owned solution, not purchasing a

service Sharing technological development and organizational tasks

decentralizing our activities Safety in this “brave new world” of digital preservation may

well reside in shared knowledge and shared commitment

decreasing dependence on third-party solutions There is room for various types of solutions Increased capacity for acting as a community of cultural

stewards

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Outsourcing core services = risky proposition

Core missions: Building collections Disseminating collections Preserving collections

Cannot focus on the collections at the expense of the services … need both in order to carry our missions forward

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Dr. Katherine Skinner404 783 2534katherine.skinner@metaarchive.org

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