The Center for Research Libraries (CRL) in the US has certified Chronopolis, a large-scale data preservation network, as a ‘trustworthy digital repository’ that meets accepted best practices in the management of digital repositories. Chronopolis is led by the UC San Diego Libraries and the San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC) at UC San Diego, with partners at the National Center for Atmospheric Research and the University of Maryland’s Institute for Advanced Computer Studies.
The primary metrics used by CRL in its assessment are those included in the Trustworthy Repositories Audit and Certification (TRAC) checklist developed by a joint task force of the Research Libraries Group and the National Archives and Records Administration in 2003, to define criteria for evaluating digital repositories. The TRAC criteria - which include organisational infrastructure; digital object management; and technologies, technical infrastructure, and security - represent current best practices and thinking about the organisational and technological needs of trustworthy digital repositories.
Chronopolis, which was launched in 2008 as one of the Library of Congress’ efforts to collect and preserve at-risk digital information, is said to have the capacity to preserve hundreds of terabytes of digital data of any type or size, with minimal requirements of data providers. The project reportedly leverages high-speed networks, mass-scale storage capabilities, and the expertise of partners to provide a geographically distributed, heterogeneous and highly redundant archive system.
The certification is based on CRL review, including extensive documentation gathered independently by its Certification Advisory Panel from open and third-party sources, as well as data and documentation provided by Chronopolis administrators. The review also included a site visit to SDSC by CRL audit personnel. The Certification Advisory Panel concluded that the practices followed and services offered by Chronopolis are generally sound, and appropriate to the content being archived and the general need of the designated Chronopolis community.
Chronopolis also serves as the data preservation repository for UC San Diego’s campus-wide Research Cyberinfrastructure (RCI) initiative, which provides researchers with the computing, network, and human infrastructure needed to store, manage, and share data.
