Koala – the long-term preservation system

Our cooperative long-term preservation system “koala” performs the task of storing digital objects permanently. This system was developed in cooperation with Gesellschaft für wissenschaftliche Datenverarbeitung mbH Göttingen (Society for Scientific Data Processing – GWDG) and replaced the Digital Information Archiving System (DIAS) in 2017. The DIAS system came into being between 2004 and 2007 during the course of the “kopal” project and was funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research.

The system structure follows the reference model for Open Archive Information Systems (OAIS). The software used is an open source product that facilitates independent development and modification in line with new digital preservation requirements. At the same time, the open source software allows for a certain degree of independence from service providers. The components, some of which function independently, facilitate various work phases:

• Import of deposited media works and metadata
• Storage of imported data in several storage media
• Access to stored data for preparation and review
• Migration of vulnerable data
• System administration

Digital objects are reviewed and prepared for long-term preservation right from the time they are deposited. For this, we collect the technical metadata and analyse the data quality. Afterwards, the media works and metadata are transferred into a package and sent to koala. The deposit procedure then imports this data into our catalogue. The media works are made available on a local repository for use in the reading room.

Further information

(only available in German)