Copying Archives

Proposer: Hussein Suleman

Abbreviation: CopyArch

Brief Description: Lots of Copies Keeps Stuff Safe (LOCKSS) is an approach used to preserve content by making multiple copies and ensuring that these copies are resilient to failure by periodic automatic verification and repair.

LOCKSS has been used to create dark archives of content for various purposes but has not yet been widely accepted in the digital repository community. This is partly because each repository has its own data storage mechanisms. This also means that archives cannot be easily replicated or shifted from one platform to another, e.g., from Dspace to Eprints or vice versa.

The aim of this project is to develop and test a common mechanism to interconnect archives with LOCKSS or with one another, thereby enabling preservation, replication and migration of content. Using this common interface, it should be possible for an archive: to connect into a LOCKSS network for preservation; to transfer its contents to another archive or to offline storage; or to reload from LOCKSS when catastrophe strikes.

Using these techniques, it should be possible to safeguard locally-produced content (academic, heritage, etc.) against accidental loss, and further prove that the content is indeed safe.

Computer Science Content: Digital Libraries, Web technology, digital preservation

Specific Learning Outcomes: System implementation; research methodology; experimental evaluation.

Skills Required by Team as a Whole:

Theory: Nothing particular.

Implementation: Knowledge of Web technology and XML will be useful.

Facilities needed: Server and data storage space will be provided as needed.

Supervision: Hussein Suleman, with input from technical staff at Stellenbosch University Library (who run the South African LOCKSS project). This project will be hosted within the Digital Libraries Laboratory – students will be encouraged to attend DL activities when relevant or to get input/assistance from senior research students.

Number of Students: 3 or 2