This document specifies BagIt, a hierarchical file package format for the exchange of generalized digital content. A "bag" has just enough structure to safely enclose a brief "tag" and a payload but does not require any knowledge of the payload's internal semantics. This BagIt format should be suitable for disk-based or network-based file package transfer. One important use case is the possibility of eventual safe return of a received bag. Tag information consists of a small number of top-level reserved file names, checksums for transfer validation, and optional small metadata blocks.

Also see GrabIt

An increasing number of institutions throughout the world face legal obligations or business needs to collect and preserve digital objects over several decades. A range of tools exists today to support the variety of preservation strategies such as migration or emulation. Yet, different preservation requirements across institutions and settings make the decision on which solution to implement very diffcult. The PLANETS Preservation Planning approach [JCDL2007] provides a solid way of making informed and accountable decisions on which solution to implement in order to optimally preserve digital objects for a given purpose. It is based on earlier work done in the DELOS Digital Preservation Cluster and builds on Utility Analysis to evaluate the performance of various solutions against well-defined requirements and goals. The methodology can be applied to any class of strategy, be it migration, emulation or different approaches, and has been validated in a series of case studies. Until now, preservation planning is largely a manual and tedious process where available solutions are evaluated against the specific requirements of a particular situation. Plato implements the well-documented and validated preservation planning methodology and integrates registries and services for preservation action and characterisation. It furthermore provides a sophisticated web-based interface for guiding the planner through the process.

DROID (Digital Record Object Identification) is a software tool developed by The National Archives to perform automated batch identification of file formats. Developed by its Digital Preservation Department as part of its broader digital preservation activities, DROID is designed to meet the fundamental requirement of any digital repository to be able to identify the precise format of all stored digital objects, and to link that identification to a central registry of technical information about that format and its dependencies.

This Report explores the roles, rights, responsibilities and relationships of institutions, data centres and other key stakeholders who work with data. It concentrates primarily on the UK scene with some reference to other relevant experience and opinion, and is framed as “a snapshot” of a relatively fast-moving field. It is strategically positioned to provide a bridge between the high-level RIN Framework of Principles and Guidelines for the stewardship of research data, and practitioner-focussed technical development work1. For ease of cross-reference, the number(s) of the relevant RIN Principle(s) are given against each of the recommendations1.

European study under DRIVER of standards important to this effort

The online registry of technical information. PRONOM is a resource for anyone requiring impartial and definitive information about the file formats, software products and other technical components required to support long-term access to electronic records and other digital objects of cultural, historical or business value.

EPrints is the most flexible platform for building high quality, high value repositories, recognised as the easiest and fastest way to set up repositories of research literature, scientific data, student theses, project reports, multimedia artefacts, teaching materials, scholarly collections, digitised records, exhibitions and performances.

Download PDF (326 KB) Fedora Commons is happy to post the draft of the first Fedora Commons Technology Roadmap. This is the beginning of a community process for governing technology development in Fedora Commons. The roadmap summarizes the strategic vision of Fedora Commons that guides development, documents the themes and priorities of our community summarizing the needs we will address, and provides a plan for the software releases we hope will enable those who adopt our technology.