RDA/WDS Certification of Digital Repositories IG

Status: Recognised & Endorsed Joint RDA/WDS IG

In order to guarantee data sharing, the long-term preservation of these data in sustainable digital repositories is a sine qua non. Data that are created and used by science and scholarship need to be managed, curated and archived, making sure that the substantial investments in preparing and presenting the content and tools will not be lost. Researchers need to be sure that the resources the repositories offer remain meaningful and usable over time. Moreover, the repositories themselves need to have sustainable business models.

Preservation and sustainability raise challenges in many areas. The main issues related to long term preservation and sustainability remain basically unresolved, as many organizational, technical, financial and legal aspects remain open. Certification is therefore fundamental in guaranteeing the trustworthiness of digital repositories and thus in sustaining the opportunities for long-term data sharing.

The Interest Group will build on previous work in the area of certification. It will deliver the global overview and the necessary recommendations and requirements that allow the effective implementation of certification of digital repositories on a national, European and even global level.

• Interest Group Charter 
• DSA–WDS Partnership Working Group Case Statement