We are pleased to announce the official kick-off of the DRS Modernization project, an ITCRB-funded effort to modernize the Digital Repository Service. This 3-year effort begins with an initial Discovery phase in July 2022, followed by a Planning phase in Summer 2023, and concluding with implementation and release of a new service expected in Summer 2025.
Please see the project’s vision, strategic objectives, guiding principles, and measurable benefits below:
| DRS Modernization Project Vision |
| Modernize infrastructure and services preserving Harvard’s digital scholarly resources and institutional records for future (re)use by faculty, students, administrators, and staff, furthering the University’s research, teaching, and learning mission and safeguarding its legacy. |
| Strategic Objectives | Guiding Principles | Measurable Benefits |
| Accept the widest diversity of digital materials for proactive preservation care. Support the widest range of archival and curatorial processing workflows. Integrate smoothly with other Library and University systems. Provide intuitive user interfaces for self-service stakeholder interaction. Develop a cost model that supports sustainable operations and incentivizes adoption. | Follow principles of user-centered design. Design with API-first architecture for scalable, fault-tolerant, asynchronous processing. Prioritize standards over custom approaches. Align with Library and University IT goals and strategic priorities. Consider appropriate commercial as well as open-source solutions. Prioritize adaptive service model responsive to emerging technologies and evolving stakeholder needs, goals, and aspirations. | Addition and scalable support of new—and often unanticipated—content types. Comprehensive submission, retrieval, and description via API. Working integrations with key Library and University systems, including but not limited to DASH, Dataverse, and FASRC HPC. Positive focus group response to UI/UX and conformance to WCAG accessibility standards. Coverage of full economic costs while maintaining adoption and use at or above historic levels. |
Current Project Status
Currently, the project team is engaged in project setup, including creating the project charter, setting up a public presence for the project, setting up the project tracking infrastructure, recruiting for project positions, and connecting with peer institutions about their experiences with implementing large scale digital preservation repository systems.
The initial Discovery phase of activity, starting this July, and scheduled to continue until Summer 2023, will include extensive engagement with DRS stakeholders across the University to develop comprehensive understanding of diverse needs, goals, and aspirations regarding long-term stewardship of the University’s digital collections.
We will send periodic updates on the project’s progress to HL Comms. The project Executive Committee, Stewardship Standing Committee, and Born-Digital Stewardship Advisory Group, representing the concerns of the whole HL community, will also receive monthly updates.
We are also working on a public project website hosting important resources, planning documents, and status updates, which should be available soon.
Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us with any questions: drs-futures-feedback@hu.onmicrosoft.com.
Best,
Vitaly Zakuta, DRS Modernization Project Manager, Library Technology Services
Stephen Abrams, Head of Digital Preservation, Harvard Library
Stu Snydman, Associate University Librarian and Managing Director, Library Technology