The Story of

at the AlaskaState LibraryPresented by Sheri Somerville

Alaska State Library

March 14, 2009

What is ?

• LOCKSS stands for “Lots of Copies Keep Stuff Safe”

• A digital tool developed by Stanford University Libraries to collect, store and preserve a local copy of content

• Ensures continued access to 100% of electronic materials rather than “renting” access to your subscriptions.

• Participants all over the world

What can happen to your e-collections?

They can be damaged or destroyed by:• Natural disasters• Technical failures• Economic issues• System attacks

Alliance

• Composed of member libraries, a governing board and project team members from Stanford.

• Provides opportunity for libraries to develop their LOCKSS collection according needs of their own institution

• Support software developments and monitoring of system

• Members can collect all Open Access titles and all of their own subscriptions

How does work?

• Start with a basic PC, = secure LOCKSS box

• Need at least 6 other LOCKSS machines

• Other institutions choose to join the peer-to-peer network and store content

• Only library users can access the materials

How does work?

•Runs off open source software on CD

• Configuration stored on another medium such as a floppy disk

• Software indicates what to crawl and the content is stored on the hard disk

How does work?

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How does work?• LOCKSS boxes compare copies against

one another or perform audits• Repair identified errors or

inconsistencies• Anything lost or damaged can be

restored• Anything found on HTTP can be

preserved: • Images• Blogs• Videos• Web pages

How does work?• Archival Unit (AU) = collection of digital

objects preserved as one unit

• Plug-in = what to collect (base URL, volume, year, manifest)

• Publisher’s manifest = permission (hosted on publisher’s site)

How does work?• Public network = free and anyone can

participate (e.g. Alaska State Library’s state document collection). Larger community.

• Private network = sensitive materials and only Alliance members can participate (e.g. Alabama Digital Preservation Network and U.S. Government Documents Private LOCKSS Network). Smaller community.

& the State Library

• We used an older e-preservation method from Illinois called “Preserving Electronic Publications” or PEP

• Wished to participate in a pilot project that used LOCKSS

• Interested in possibly preserving State of Alaska documents via another method

• Purchased an inexpensive computer

• Established a static IP as State of Alaska IPs are dynamic

• Installed and configured the software

& the State Library

What is the cost?1. LOCKSS Alliance fees based on institutional size.

2. Equipment: $1,500

3. Non-networked connection: $65/month

4. Time: 1/2 a day or so initially, 3 hours to write plug in if needed, 1/2 - 1 hour whenever there is an upgrade (at most).

GPO Pilot Project• 2005, participated in project to preserve federal e-journals such as Environmental Health Perspectives, Amber Waves and FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin

• Over twenty institutions involved

• Tested idea of “depositing” e-copies, similar to traditional Federal Depository Program

• Focus to preserve content vs. format due to space constraints

• Considered successful, but not continued. Did open door for new project

Preserving State Docs• Write plug-in for web filter

• Used CD provided by Stanford and also received technical support

• Required about 3 hours to create

• 30 + instutions interested in Alaska are part of our network

• Use URLs found on our monthly shipping list

• No permissions or publisher manifests needed as preservation of State documents is part of our statutory mandate.

• Some agency materials are restricted and we do not load their URLs to the web page.

Current Status• Still using LOCKSS to collection State documents

• Have had some recent issues with our LOCKS box

• May be tied to power outages but should reboot off of CD

• May be tied to configuration issues

• Working on a resolution, but know that there are over 30 boxes collecting our materials and available for repair

• Added extra storage to participate in other projects

How might you use LOCKSS?

Would you like to help preserve Alaska’s

e-documents?

Any questions?

Thank you for coming!

Sheri Somerville

Alaska State Library

sheri.somerville@alaska.gov