Storage and digital preservation

Once we have preserved these precious pieces, we need to store them safely for future generations of scholars. Digitized audio and video content is stored long term in IU’s Scholarly Data Archive (SDA), a massive storage service co-located at IU data centers in Bloomington and Indianapolis.

In addition, the IU Libraries, in collaboration with Boston public broadcaster WGBH and with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities, are developing the HydraDAM2 software system to manage preservation audio and video master files over time. This platform, based on open-source Hydra and Fedora digital repository technologies, will verify the integrity of these files on a regular basis, provide access to the master files for collection staff, and manage technical metadata essential to the files’ future reuse and migration to new formats. IU is also exploring options for storing copies of master files in other geographic regions under other technologies to further ensure their longevity and to mitigate risk of loss or corruption.