LOCKSS Networks: Community-Based Digital Preservation

Abstract

Ten years ago, the landscape of working digital preservation (DP) solutions and/or networks was sparsely populated. Today, there is an increasing variety of DP approaches and solutions to choose from. Institutions can outsource the preservation of their digital content to private companies that are active in the library, archives, and museum (LAM) market space. They can take advantage of cloud services such as DuraCloud, Amazon Glacier, or Google Nearline. Additionally, academic institutions may join membership networks such as the Digital Preservation Network (DPN) or Academic Preservation Trust (APTrust). Or they can form other types of associations based on geographic proximity, institution type, or some other shared characteristic or concern. One approach that has proven successful over time is the Community LOCKSS Network, or CLN. Originally developed at Stanford University in the late 1990s to preserve e-publisher content, LOCKSS has continually demonstrated its ability to be a stable and reliable preservation solution for locally produced digital content as well. Starting with the first Community LOCKSS Network—the MetaArchive Cooperative, in 2004—CLNs have spread throughout the United States, Canada, Latin America, and Europe. There are currently at least 15 CLNs around the world, including networks in Brazil, Belgium, Germany, and the UK. The authors examine five geographically and administratively diverse CLNs: the MetaArchive Cooperative, an international PLN with members in the United States, Brazil, and Spain; the Alabama Digital Preservation Network (ADPNet), a statewide PLN serving a diverse set of institutions in an economically challenged state; the Council of Prairie and Pacific University Libraries (COPPUL) WestVault CLN, a network serving academic libraries in western Canada; the Public Knowledge Project Preservation Network (PKP-PN), a network for preserving content from Open Journal Systems (OJS) journals; and the Indiana Digital Preservation (InDiPres) CLN, a new statewide collaborative within the MetaArchive Cooperative.