The Repository

Digital Repositories and Physical Libraries

The Preserv view of the repository community is not limited to institutional repositories (IRs) that only accept Portable Document Format (PDF) files. In this way the digital repository varies from the classical view of a library, which may indeed only store printed texts leaving other more specialised services to handle image collections and other works - is an art gallery a type of repository? Although we can recognise differences between digital repositories and physical libraries, it is important to realise the similarities.

The Table below shows the basic processes within a physical library and how these map to a digital repository.

Library	Digital Repository
A building to store objects in	A server to store objects on
A means by which new objects can be acquired	A way to ingest new objects
An indexing system to give order	A database of resources and metadata
Provide a means by which objects can be found	A search engine and dissemination web pages
Provides a way to borrow and return books	Open access and downloads
A preservation process Example: Rebind books when they get damaged and worn	A preservation process Example: Check that the file on the server can still be read/accessed

Table: Similarities between a physical library and a digital repository

<--- Linking repositories with preservation

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Digital Repository Models and Object Lifecycles --->