U Illinois Creates Digital Repository With Open Source Software

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) has a new way to manage its digital assets. The library at the 42,000-student university recently implemented a digital archive system to store and preserve intellectual property and digital content created by its students, faculty, and administrators.

UIUC's new digital repository is based on a solution that combines DuraSpace Open Source Fedora Commons Repository Software with Dell DX Object Storage Platform, according to a statement released last week by Dell. The system is designed to scale with the university's content needs.

"This opportunity provides us with extra resources to further the development of the Library’s digital preservation archive," said Thomas Habing, research programmer for the library, in the prepared statement. "It also allows us to continue to utilize Open Source Fedora Commons Repository Software while at the same time employing a commercially-supported object storage platform with many digital preservation features, such as replication and validation, which we will not need to implement ourselves."

The system automatically creates two copies of each file to be stored in the repository—an archive master and a working master. One copy is stored in the main library cluster while the second file is kept in the engineering library. In the future, the system will create a third copy, which will be stored in a cloud drive.

Dell's storage platform manages the archive using metadata, which identifies files that need to be converted to new digital formats. The platform is designed to allow archivists to add capacity, as needed, so meet the university's storage needs.

"With the transition from stacks and the Dewey Decimal system to bytes, clusters and metadata, academic libraries need a digital archiving strategy that addresses their immediate and future needs," said John Mullen, vice president of education and state and local government at Dell, in the prepared statement. "The University of Illinois’ innovative and open approach to this challenge is a practical model for any university.”

About the Author

Kanoe Namahoe is online editor for 1105 Media's Education Group. She can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • person signing a bill at a desk with a faint glow around the document. A tablet and laptop are subtly visible in the background, with soft colors and minimal digital elements

    California Governor Signs AI Content Safeguards into Law

    California Governor Gavin Newsom has officially signed off on a series of landmark artificial intelligence bills, signaling the state’s latest efforts to regulate the burgeoning technology, particularly in response to the misuse of sexually explicit deepfakes. The legislation is aimed at mitigating the risks posed by AI-generated content, as concerns grow over the technology's potential to manipulate images, videos, and voices in ways that could cause significant harm.

  • close-up illustration of a hand signing a legislative document

    California Passes AI Safety Legislation, Awaits Governor's Signature

    California lawmakers have overwhelmingly approved a bill that would impose new restrictions on AI technologies, potentially setting a national precedent for regulating the rapidly evolving field. The legislation, known as S.B. 1047, now heads to Governor Gavin Newsom's desk. He has until the end of September to decide whether to sign it into law.

  • illustration of a VPN network with interconnected nodes and lines forming a minimalist network structure

    Report: Increasing Number of Vulnerabilities in OpenVPN

    OpenVPN, a popular open source virtual private network (VPN) system integrated into millions of routers, firmware, PCs, mobile devices and other smart devices, is leaving users open to a growing list of threats, according to a new report from Microsoft.

  • interconnected cubes and circles arranged in a grid-like structure

    Hugging Face Gradio 5 Offers AI-Powered App Creation and Enhanced Security

    Hugging Face has released version 5 of its Gradio open source platform for building machine learning (ML) applications. The update introduces a suite of features focused on expanding access to AI, including a novel AI-powered app creation tool, enhanced web development capabilities, and bolstered security measures.