This webinar discussed the Alliance Digital Repository (ADR) managed by the Colorado Alliance of Research Libraries. The ADR launched in 2006 using Fedora as its initial platform but migrated to Islandora in 2011. It currently hosts over 48,000 objects for 9 member institutions. The webinar covered ADR's history, governance structure, policies for content identification and metadata, and plans to further develop the repository with Islandora and DuraCloud in 2012. Attendees were also polled on their institutions' digital repository experience.

1. Hot Topics: The DuraSpace
Community Webinar Series
Knowledge Futures: Digital
Preservation Planning
Curated by Liz Bishoff
March 27, 2012 Hot Topics: DuraSpace Community Webinar Series

2. Using the Webinar
Platform
• 2-way audio for all
participants is muted
• We’ll utilize the Chat
Window for the Q&A portion
or you may use it if you are
having technical difficulties
• You may type your question
here & hit ‘enter’
March 27, 2012 Hot Topics: DuraSpace Community Webinar Series

3. Webinar 3: Preservation &
Archiving Highlights from the
Alliance Digital Repository
Presenters: Liz Bishoff,
Robin Dean & George Machovec
March 27, 2012 Hot Topics: DuraSpace Community Webinar Series

4. About our presenters
• Liz Bishoff is a partner at The Bishoff
Group LLC
Colorado Alliance of Research Libraries
• Robin Dean is the Director, Alliance
Digital Repository
• George Machovec is the Interim
Executive Director
March 27, 2012 Hot Topics: DuraSpace Community Webinar Series

5. History
&
Context
George Machovec
Interim Executive Director
Colorado Alliance of Research Libraries

6. Colorado Alliance of Research
Libraries
• 501c(3) non-profit incorporated in 1978
• Former owner of CARL Corporation and
UnCover
• 13 libraries in Colorado and Wyoming
(academic libraries & Denver Public Library)
• Four major programmatic tracks
• Alliance Digital Repository (ADR)
• Prospector union catalog
• Database licensing (>$10 million/year)
• Gold Rush ERMS and link resolver

7. ADR Background
• An initiative launched by the consortium at the
behest of the library deans/directors so each
wouldn’t have to do it individually
• A collaborative digital repository effort
launched in November 2006
• After an extensive review of commercial and
open source solutions Fedora was selected as
the underlying architecture
– Flexibility with great promise for the future
– Commitment to preservation principles
– Fez was the initial front end (later changed
to Islandora)

8. ADR Background (cont.)
• Launched project with $445,000 of self-
granted local funds
– 18 month launch window
– Funding supported hardware platform &
staffing
– Local sites would do their own digitization
– Staff placed at consortium offices in Denver
– Ongoing costs to be split among
participants after 18 month self-funded
launch

9. Key Launch Issues
• Selecting the platform after review
• Developing policies, guidelines and procedures
– Borrowed, whenever possible, from others
• Developing agreements between ADR and
member organizations
– Worked with legal counsel at each site
– Signed agreements at several levels

10. What the Alliance offered
• Start-up funding
• Staff and resources
• Project and services management
• System support and maintenance
• Marketing support so sites could market on
their own campuses
• Training
• Sustainability

11. ADR Timeline
• Program launched in November 2006 with the
hiring of the ADR Director
• Initial portals launched for some sites in late
2007
• Production portals for some sites in mid to late
2008
• Decision made in 2011 to migrate from Fez to
Islandora from UPEI/DGI
• DuraCloud pilot in 2011 and production launch
in 2012

12. Change
• Major programmatic review done in Spring 2010
– Several Alliance libraries left the service to
pursue other avenues
– Member Institutions (2012)
• University of Denver, Univ of Northern Colorado,
University of Wyoming, Colorado School of Mines,
Colorado College, University of Wyoming, Colorado
Mesa University, Colorado State Publications,
Jefferson County Public Library
• Pilot partnership with Orbis Cascade in 2011/2012.
Created a test Islandora portal to explore an inter-
consortial partnership.
• Service now run with 2.5 FTE central staff and
contract with Discovery Garden Inc

13. Preservation
and Migration
at the ADR
Robin Dean
Director, Alliance Digital Repository
Colorado Alliance of Research Libraries

14. Where are we now?
 In production since 2008
 Consortial digital repository service
 9 members (CO & WY)
 Centrally managed from Denver, CO
 Fedora Commons repository
 Fez: 2008-2012
 Islandora: 2011- present
 48,000+ objects / 4 TB (as of March 2012)

15. Poll: How long has your institution had
a production digital repository?
 5 years or more
 3-5 years
 2 years
 1 year
 Less than 1 year
 Still in development
 No repository / haven’t started yet

16. What do you mean,
migration?

17. The more things
change,
the more they
stay the same

18. ADR Mission Statement
“The mission of the Alliance Digital
Repository (ADR) is to provide services
for the preservation of and access to
digital assets inherent to the research,
information, and education missions of
the Alliance member institutions.”

19. ADR Vision Statement
“The vision of the ADR is to serve as a
standards-based repository and
infrastructure supporting a diverse set
of applications, services, and discovery
tools that offer long-term management,
secure storage, preservation solutions,
and - when possible - open access to
digital assets of enduring value, as
determined by the Alliance institutions.”

20. Governance & Structure
Alliance Board
ADR Directors
ADR Member ADR Services
Committee Staff
Working Groups/
Subcommittees

21. Policies
are your destination

22. Content Identification Policy
 The ADR supports the ability to make
persistent reference to materials deposited
 Materials form an important part of the
scholarly dialogue and record
 Each digital object has two unique identifiers
within the ADR: a PID and a Handle
 Handles and PIDs are never reused and
remain unique to the object

23. Metadata Policy
 The ADR will use MODS as a normalizing
metadata schema
 All objects in the ADR will have, either
included or created at the point of ingest, a
MODS metadata data stream
 The ADR staff will support the creation,
inclusion, and mapping of other standards-
based schemas (MARC, VRA, DC, etc.)

24. Not everything
is worth
preserving

25. YES NO
Primary Content Files System-generated
derivatives
Descriptive Metadata
Inactive User
Accounts
Audit/Event Metadata
Deleted Objects
Access Metadata (sometimes)

26. The more things
change,
the more they
change

27. What’s Next
at the ADR

28. 2012
• Islandora site launches
• DuraCloud production use
• Continuing feature development with DGI
• Hardware update
• Policy review

29. Post-Migration Policy Review
 Remove specifics that only applied to
original repository model
 Check new platform against policies
 How does it fulfill the policies?
 Does it create any new policy
requirements?

30. Questions?
Robin Dean
Director, Alliance Digital Repository
Colorado Alliance of Research Libraries
robin@coalliance.org
George Machovec
Interim Executive Director
Colorado Alliance of Research Libraries
george@coalliance.org
March 27, 2012 Hot Topics: DuraSpace Community Webinar Series

31. Thank you!
• DSpace, Fedora and DuraCloud are part
of the DuraSpace open technology
portfolio. Visit http://DuraSpace.org for
more information.
• Contact Carol Minton Morris
cmmorris@duraspace.org to learn more
about curating “Hot Topics: The
DuraSpace Community Webinar Series.”
March 27, 2012 Hot Topics: DuraSpace Community Webinar Series