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Draft:eArchiving Initiative

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  • Comment: to be notable, it needs sources noting it that aren't directly related to the initiative itself PARAKANYAA (talk) 21:48, 16 July 2024 (UTC)


The eArchiving Initiative, part of the Digital Europe Programme of the European Commission, defines standards - in form of specifications - and tools to ensure the long-term preservation and reuse of digital information.

History and development

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E-ARK Project

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The origins of the eArchiving Initiative trace back to the original E-ARK project (2014–2017). The E-ARK (European Archival Records and Knowledge Preservation) project aimed to provide a standards, guidelines, and tools for archiving electronic records to ensure their longevity and accessibility.[1]

E-ARK4ALL and E-ARK3

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Following the initial E-ARK project, the European Commission launched E-ARK4ALL under the Connecting Europe Facility] (CEF) programme. This phase focused on building the eArchiving Common Services Platform (CSP). The E-ARK4ALL project extended the original framework and began setting up the infrastructure to support adoption of the standards.[2]

The subsequent E-ARK3 project, part of the Digital Europe Programme, further developed the CSP and formalized the eArchiving specifications.

Core principles

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Interoperability

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The eArchiving Initiative aims to foster interoperability by adhering to international standards and specifications for packaging digital information.[3]

Openness and transparency

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A fundamental aspect of eArchiving is the use of open specifications for packaging and archiving digital information.

Interoperability and sustainability

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eArchiving supports the implementation of interoperable digital archival systems with reusable modular components.

Technical specifications

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The eArchiving technical specifications describe open formats for packaging data and metadata to ensure the interoperability of archival solutions and data repositories. At the core of these specifications is the Common Specification for Information Packages (CSIP), which defines the general format requirements for all other specifications in the hierarchy of (Open Archival Information System (OAIS)[4]) information packages, namely (SIP, AIP, DIP).

Key specifications

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  • E-ARK Common Specification for Information Packages (CSIP): This specification outlines the fundamental requirements for information packages.[5]
  • E-ARK Submission Information Package (SIP): Specifies the format for packages transferred to archival repositories.[6]
  • E-ARK Archival Information Package (AIP): Details the format for preserving information over extended periods.[7]
  • E-ARK Dissemination Information Package (DIP): Describes the format for reusing archived content.[8]

Additionally, there are Content Information Type Specifications (CITS) for specific application domains, such as geospatial data (CITS Geospatial[9]), relational databases (CITS SIARD[10]), and health records (CITS eHealth1 Patient Medical Records[11]).

Maintenance and updates

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The eArchiving specifications are maintained by the Digital Information LifeCycle Interoperability Standards (DILCIS) Board.[12]

References

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  1. ^ "E-ARK Project". E-ARK Project. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  2. ^ "E-ARK Foundation Projects". E-ARK Foundation. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  3. ^ "eArchiving Initiative". European Commission. 22 May 2024. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  4. ^ "Open Archival Information System (OAIS)" (PDF).
  5. ^ "E-ARK Common Information Type Specification (E-ARK CSIP)".
  6. ^ "E-ARK SIP".
  7. ^ "E-ARK AIP".
  8. ^ "E-ARK DIP".
  9. ^ "CITS Geospatial data".
  10. ^ "Cits Siard".
  11. ^ "CITS eHealth1 Patient Medical Records".
  12. ^ https://dilcis.eu/