OAIS
Encyclopedia
An Open Archival Information System (or OAIS) is an archive
, consisting of an organization of people and systems, that has accepted the responsibility to preserve information
and make it available for a Designated Community.
The term OAIS also refers, by extension, to the ISO OAIS Reference Model for an OAIS. This reference model is defined by recommendation CCSDS 650.0-B-1 of the Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems
; this text is identical to ISO 14721:2003.
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 this reference model there is a particular focus on digital information, both as the primary forms of information held and as supporting information for both digitally and physically archived materials. Therefore, the model accommodates information that is inherently non-digital (e.g., a physical sample
), but the modeling and preservation of such information is not addressed in detail.
Archive
An archive is a collection of historical records, or the physical place they are located. Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or organization's lifetime, and are kept to show the function of an organization...
, consisting of an organization of people and systems, that has accepted the responsibility to preserve information
Information
Information in its most restricted technical sense is a message or collection of messages that consists of an ordered sequence of symbols, or it is the meaning that can be interpreted from such a message or collection of messages. Information can be recorded or transmitted. It can be recorded as...
and make it available for a Designated Community.
The term OAIS also refers, by extension, to the ISO OAIS Reference Model for an OAIS. This reference model is defined by recommendation CCSDS 650.0-B-1 of the Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems
Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems
The Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems was formed in 1982 by the major space agencies of the world to provide a forum for discussion of common problems in the development and operation of space data systems...
; this text is identical to ISO 14721:2003.
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
Digital media
Digital media is a form of electronic media where data is stored in digital form. It can refer to the technical aspect of storage and transmission Digital media is a form of electronic media where data is stored in digital (as opposed to analog) form. It can refer to the technical aspect of...
and data formats, or with a changing user community. "Long term" may extend indefinitely. In this reference model there is a particular focus on digital information, both as the primary forms of information held and as supporting information for both digitally and physically archived materials. Therefore, the model accommodates information that is inherently non-digital (e.g., a physical sample
Sample (material)
In general, a sample is a limited quantity of something which is intended to be similar to and represent a larger amount of that thing. The things could be countable objects such as individual items available as units for sale, or a material not countable as individual items. Samples of countable...
), but the modeling and preservation of such information is not addressed in detail.
The reference model
The reference model:- provides a frameworkSoftware frameworkIn computer programming, a software framework is an abstraction in which software providing generic functionality can be selectively changed by user code, thus providing application specific software...
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 terminologyTerminologyTerminology is the study of terms and their use. Terms are words and compound words that in specific contexts are given specific meanings, meanings that may deviate from the meaning the same words have in other contexts and in everyday language. The discipline Terminology studies among other...
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 foundation 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 information preservation and access, and promotes a larger market which vendors can support.
- guides the identification and production of OAIS-related standards.
Requirements of the system
The OAIS must:- Negotiate for and accept appropriate information from information producers.
- Obtain sufficient control of the information provided to the level needed to ensure long term preservation.
- Determine, either by itself or in conjunction with other parties, which communities should become the designated community and, therefore, should be able to understand the information provided.
- Ensure that the information to be preserved is independently understandable to the designated community. In other words, the community should be able to understand the information without needing the assistance of the experts who produced the information.
- Follow documented policies and procedures which ensure that the information is preserved against all reasonable contingencies, and which enable the information to be disseminated as authenticated copies of the original, or as traceable to the original.
- Make the preserved information available to the designated community.
See also
- Digital preservationDigital preservationDigital preservation is the set of processes, activities and management of digital information over time to ensure its long term accessibility. The goal of digital preservation is to preserve materials resulting from digital reformatting, and particularly information that is born-digital with no...
- Library of Congress Digital Library projectLibrary of Congress Digital Library projectThe Library of Congress National Digital Library Program is assembling a digital library of reproductions of primary source materials to support the study of the history and culture of the United States...
- National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation ProgramNational Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation ProgramThe National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program is an archival program led by the Library of Congress to archive and provide access to digital resources. The U.S. Congress established the program in 2000...
- CASPAR digital preservation project
- Trustworthy Repositories Audit & CertificationTrustworthy Repositories Audit & CertificationTrustworthy Repositories Audit & Certification is a checklist that developed from work done by the OCLC/RLG Programs and National Archives and Records Administration task force initiative....