el for creating long-lasting digital archives is known as OAIS, the Open Archival Information system. This model was developed by the Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems of NASA, and is under consideration for approval as an international standard. While developed for space data, the reference model is widely accepted as applicable to a very broad range of data types. The vocabulary and concepts specified in OAIS have become integrated into the language of the digital library community.
The official document that presents the OAIS reference model (www.ccsds.org/documents/pdf/CCSDS-650.0-R-2.pdf), is a long (148 pages) detailed document, written in terse, precise language, typical of other standards documents. I've found a couple of good summaries of the document that present the framework in understandable language. These include Brian Lavoie's “Meeting the challenges of digital preservation: the OAIS reference model” (OCLC Newsletter, No. 243 www2.oclc.org/oclc/pdf/news243.pdf) and the last section the OCLC/RLG report mentioned above.
The OAIS model places great emphasis on the long-term maintenance of digital collections. It recognizes that archives must deal with issues of changing technology and standards, taking into consideration the evolution of the computing environment. It offers strategies for dealing with the inevitable changes that will occur in operating systems, databases, and all the tools used to access digital information. Space doesn't allow me to describe the entire OAIS framework, but I do want to mention a few of its characteristics and some of its terminology. I encourage those involved in creating digital collections to take a closer look at this model, if they are not already familiar with it.
OAIS does not dwell on specific technologies, but rather focuses on the various relationships, concepts, and processes that apply to the overall problem of digital preservation. It is a comprehensive model or framework that addresses the issues related to designing an operating an archive that 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 