Using Metadata to Facilitate Understanding and Certification of Assertions about the Preservation Properties of a Preservation System.

Developers of preservation repositories need to provide internal audit mechanisms to verify their assertions about how the recommendations outlined in the Open Archival Information System (OAIS) Reference Model are applied. They must also verify the consistent application of preservation policies to both the digital objects and the preservation system itself. We developed a method for mapping between the OAIS Reference Model Functional Model to a data grid implementation, which facilitates such tasks. We have done a preliminary gap analysis to determine the current state of computer task-oriented functions and procedures in support of preservation, and constructed a method for abstracting state transition systems from preservation policies. Our approach facilitates certifying properties of a preservation repository and bridges the gap between computer code and abstract preservation repository standards such as the OAIS Reference Model.