hat is independent of any specific hardware and software components that may happen to be current today.
Relationships defined in the model include producers, consumers, management, and the archive itself. The producers are the creators or owners of the content that the archive will preserve. Consumers make use of content in the archive. While there may be a set of general users, special consideration is given the Designated Community, which are those that have direct interest in and understanding of the content of the archive. Managers have authority over the archive and make decisions regarding its operation.
Many processes related to the creation and operation of an archive are outlined in the framework. Ingestion is the function of accepting information from producers and integrating it into the archive, taking any measures necessary to put it in the proper form for permanent storage. The <Archival Storage function involves the actual storage of the material, including capabilities to accept new items through ingestion and to retrieve items as needed. This part of the model takes responsibility for the ongoing maintenance of the archived material, such as migration to new media, error checking, disaster recovery, and the like. The Administrative function manages the routine operation of the archive; the Data Management function deals with metadata that describe each item and performs requests typically associated with a database such as queries, result sets, and reports. The Access function allows consumers, especially those of the designated community, to find and use items held in the archive.
Another set of key concepts in OAIS involves they way that items are structured, or “packaged.” The basic Information Package involves the digital object and all its associated metadata. The Submission Information Package applies to the Ingestion process; the Archival Information Package is the form that the object and related metadata take after placed into archival storage, and the Dissemination Information Package includes all the components necessary to provide access, including the digital object, metadata, and the current software tools appropriate for viewing the object.
The importance of the OAIS framework is that it provides a comprehensive and well-accepted methodology for creating digital collections in a way that ensure permanence. It may well be the case that not all the organizations that create digital collections will be able to address or implement every aspect of the complete system. It does serve as a benchmark that can be used to access current efforts at building digital archives and to guide the design of future ones.
Whether or not one chooses to follow the OAIS model, the issue of digital preservation is a vital one. I think that we all want the words, art, and other creations of our age to survive into the distant future to at least the same degree as the works of the past have survived into our time. With careful planning and ongoing commitments of resources, the ideal of long-term access to our digitized collections can be realized. The challenge continues to revolve around the fact that cycles of technology are increasingly short and that the future is infinitely long.