This project provides a needed generational modernization of the Digital Repository Service (DRS), positioning it as the foundation for meeting the Library’s ever-evolving preservation goals, needs, and aspirations. Three decades into the 21st-century information age, this digital capacity is critical to the ongoing success of Harvard’s research, teaching, and learning mission, as well as the safeguarding of its intellectual and institutional legacy. This effort benefits current and future students, scholars, administrators, and staff. The modernized DRS will provide effective, efficient, and sustainable long-term preservation of and access to University digital content in any genre or format, of any number or size, in any language, with any description, for any duration, secure against any eventuality, for any (re)use pertinent to the University’s research, teaching, and learning mission and smooth administrative operation.
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
- 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
Guiding Principles
- 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
Measurable Benefits
- 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 HPR
- 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