Evidence-based evaluation has been used successfully for many years to
establish trust in traditional repositories such as museums and
archives. It is, however, a mistake to assume that the trust earned by
a repository that successfully manages and preserves analogue material
can be transferred to their digital holdings. Such cavalier assumptions
pose a substantial threat to the long-term accessibility and
reusability of our collective memory and scholarship. Recent
international activity has championed the need for evidence-based
evaluation of digital repositories. However, the work to date has
focussed largely on the development of a criteria checklist and on the
audit itself. Considerably less thought has been committed to the shape
of
the overall certification framework that by necessity must surround it.
This
seminar aims to bring together repository practitioners, professional
auditors, representatives from international funding bodies, and
members of
the research community to determine the feasibility of digital
repository
certification on an international scale.
