The Future of Preservation: Reinventing the Repository at Harvard Library

Embracing Radical Transformation for Digital Collections

In an era of rapidly evolving content types, workflows, and user expectations, Harvard Library is undertaking an ambitious project to reimagine its core digital preservation infrastructure. The DRS Futures initiative aims to replace the venerable Digital Repository Service (DRS) that has served as the backbone of Harvard’s digital preservation program for over 25 years.

This generational modernization effort is grounded in a set of bold, future-facing aspirations. The project team has committed to supporting “any” content, conditions, users, and uses – an expansive vision that challenges the limits of the existing DRS system. Underpinning this aspirational framework are ten “radical” principles that deliberately depart from Harvard’s traditional technology procurement and implementation practices.

Through extensive stakeholder engagement and a phased, iterative design process, the DRS Futures project is charting a path towards a next-generation repository that can meet the evolving needs of Harvard’s diverse user communities. By balancing lofty goals with pragmatic solutions, the team is working to strengthen the Library’s capacity to ensure the long-term accessibility, integrity, and usability of its growing digital collections.

Acknowledging the Limits of Legacy Infrastructure

Since its initial deployment in 2000, the DRS has been subject to continual enhancement and expansion. However, the system has now reached the effective limits of its original conceptual design and operational capacity. As new modes of content representation, workflows, software standards, and preservation approaches have emerged, it has become clear that the DRS is a solution of the past, unable to fully address the needs of current and future users.

The DRS was initially conceived at a time when Harvard’s digital materials were relatively simple, static resources – primarily images and text documents. Over time, the range of acceptable content types has expanded to encompass time-based media, web-harvested content, email, research datasets, and administrative records. Yet the repository’s support for these evolving formats falls short of the diverse, dynamic, software-dependent, and often transactional content that is increasingly prevalent in the University’s reference collections, teaching materials, research outputs, and organizational records.

Moreover, the ongoing effort to maintain and extend the DRS has consumed an unsustainable amount of Library and IT resources. Focusing precious local expertise on in-house development has increasingly impeded the Library’s ability to deploy finite resources strategically in other high-impact areas. Fortunately, the landscape of open-source, community-supported, and commercial repository products has matured significantly, offering a compelling alternative to continued homegrown development.

Envisioning an Ideal Repository, Specifying an Achievable One

The DRS Futures project has followed a deliberate three-phased approach to address these challenges. The first phase, Discovery, prioritized open-ended “blue-sky” ideation to envision an ideal repository unconstrained by practical limitations. This initial visioning exercise produced a set of ten ambitious “any” goals:

1. Any genre: Support for the full range of content genres and formats, from traditional scholarly publications to emerging dynamic and interactive materials.
2. Any number: Capacity to manage an indefinitely growing volume of digital objects.
3. Any size: Ability to preserve digital content of any individual file size.
4. Any complexity: Accommodate digital objects with complex internal structures and interdependencies.
5. Any language: Provide multilingual support for metadata and user interfaces.
6. Any format: Extend format coverage beyond the current DRS repertoire to emerging and evolving digital representations.
7. Any metadata: Accommodate the diverse descriptive, administrative, and technical metadata required for effective long-term preservation.
8. Any duration: Ensure the ongoing accessibility and usability of preserved digital content over extended time horizons.
9. Any eventuality: Maintain the integrity and authenticity of digital content in the face of technological and organizational changes.
10. Any (re)use: Enable a wide range of current and future uses of preserved digital assets, from research to teaching to administration.

While full achievement of these “any” goals may be aspirational, they serve as a bold public statement of Harvard Library’s long-term preservation commitments and a challenge to continually expand the boundaries of what is possible.

The second, Planning phase of the project focused on specifying an achievable repository solution that could address these aspirations. This involved a comprehensive stakeholder engagement process, gathering and prioritizing functional and non-functional requirements, and conducting a thorough market assessment of potential vendor and open-source options. The team worked closely with Harvard’s central IT procurement organization to develop a robust Request for Proposal (RFP) process.

Embracing “Radical” Transformation Principles

Throughout this process, the DRS Futures team has been guided by ten “radical” principles that intentionally depart from Harvard’s traditional technology procurement and implementation practices. These strategies underpin all aspects of the project, from its establishing charge to its successful outcomes:

1. Radical questioning of long-standing assumptions: Challenging the status quo to reimagine the repository from first principles.
2. Radical openness to experimentation and new ideas: Embracing a spirit of innovation, not constrained by past practices.
3. Radical transparency throughout the process: Ensuring open communication and shared decision-making with stakeholders.
4. Radical democratization of content eligibility and self-service user functionality: Empowering a broader range of users to actively manage their digital content.
5. Radical partnership working with stakeholders, not just on their behalf: Elevating users as collaborators in the design process.
6. Radical engagement with stakeholders, peers, and solution providers to catalog the diversity of needs and approaches: Adopting a holistic, community-driven approach.
7. Radical collaboration between the Library and IT: Breaking down organizational siloes to integrate preservation and access.
8. Radical sustainability, including operational, financial, and environmental considerations: Ensuring the long-term viability of the repository.
9. Radical commitment by Library and University administration, evidenced by dedicated staffing, generous timeline, and substantial funding: Securing the necessary institutional support.
10. Radical humility, acknowledging that we don’t have all the answers and anything we put into place always can be made better: Maintaining an open mindset for continuous improvement.

This framework of “radical” principles has been essential in guiding the project team’s work, pushing them to challenge traditional assumptions and embrace transformative change. The insights gained from Harvard’s initiative provide a useful model for other institutions considering similar programmatic shifts in their digital preservation infrastructure.

Strengthening Organizational Capacity and Stakeholder Engagement

The DRS Futures project represents a significant undertaking, with far-reaching implications for the University’s digital collections and the Library’s ability to fulfill its preservation mission. To ensure the initiative’s success, the project team has carefully structured its organizational approach and stakeholder engagement processes.

A key priority has been establishing a robust governance framework, with dedicated project staffing and regular oversight from an Executive Committee composed of senior managers from across the University. This committee provides strategic guidance and helps ensure alignment with institutional priorities. The project team also engages regularly with a broader University Project Review Committee, maintaining transparency and accountability throughout the initiative.

Stakeholder engagement has been central to the project, reflecting the team’s commitment to radical partnership and collaboration. The initial Discovery phase involved extensive outreach to curatorial, administrative, and technical communities across Harvard, gathering user requirements and cataloging the diversity of needs and approaches. This input has been codified in a comprehensive User Requirements Catalog, which has directly informed the procurement process and the design of the new repository solution.

The stakeholder engagement process has also revealed the extent to which preservation and access remain tightly intertwined in the minds of many users. While the DRS Futures project is focused solely on replacing the archival preservation infrastructure, users consistently expressed concerns and questions about the anticipated delivery and dissemination behaviors of the new system. The team has recognized the importance of addressing these holistic user perspectives, even if they extend beyond the immediate scope of the project.

To support this ongoing stakeholder dialogue, the project has instituted regular community meetings, online office hours, and other communication channels. A dedicated Change Manager role has been added to the team, tasked with facilitating the necessary organizational and cultural shifts to ensure a smooth transition to the new repository platform.

Balancing Radical Aspirations with Pragmatic Solutions

As the DRS Futures project moves into its final Implementation phase, the team is working to balance the project’s radical aspirations with pragmatic, achievable solutions. A key priority has been identifying a repository platform that can flexibly accommodate Harvard’s diverse and evolving digital content, while also integrating seamlessly with the surrounding ecosystem of discovery, access, and administrative systems.

Careful consideration has been given to the operational, financial, and environmental sustainability of the new repository infrastructure. The team has explored a range of hosting and storage options, including cloud-based and on-premises deployments, seeking to optimize for cost-effectiveness, energy efficiency, and long-term viability.

The project has also involved extensive work to address the technical and logistical challenges of migrating content from the Legacy DRS system to the new platform. This has required close collaboration with the vendor, as well as the development of custom integration components to ensure a smooth transition and the preservation of existing metadata and access pathways.

Throughout this process, the DRS Futures team has maintained a steadfast commitment to radical transparency and stakeholder engagement. Regular progress updates, demonstrations, and opportunities for feedback have been essential in building trust, addressing user concerns, and cultivating a sense of shared ownership in the new repository solution.

Lessons for the Digital Preservation Community

The DRS Futures project provides a model for other institutions grappling with the generational modernization of their digital preservation infrastructure. Several key lessons emerge from Harvard’s experience:

1. Set ambitious, future-facing goals: Articulate a bold, aspirational vision for the repository, then work to incrementally achieve those goals over time.
2. Embrace a culture of radical transformation: Challenge long-standing assumptions, experiment with new ideas, and foster cross-organizational collaboration.
3. Prioritize stakeholder engagement and change management: Elevate users as partners in the design process and proactively address the organizational and cultural impacts of technological change.
4. Balance radical aspirations with pragmatic solutions: Identify flexible, sustainable repository platforms that can evolve to meet future needs, while also integrating with existing systems and workflows.
5. Secure institutional commitment and resources: Ensure the project receives the necessary administrative support, funding, and staffing to achieve its ambitious goals.

As Harvard Library embarks on this generational transformation of its digital preservation infrastructure, the DRS Futures project stands as a model of bold, forward-thinking innovation. By embracing a radical, user-centric approach, the team is well-positioned to strengthen the University’s long-term stewardship of its growing digital collections. The insights gained from this initiative will undoubtedly inspire and guide other institutions as they navigate the evolving landscape of digital preservation.