The Digital Preservation Polícies of LOCKSS Networks

Distributed Digital Preservation (DDP) is by nature capable of ensuring that the promise of guaranteeing the longevity of digital objects stored in digital repositories can be fulfilled. However, for the security guarantee of these digital objects to exist beyond theory, managers of Institutional Repositories (IRs) must build their Digital Preservation Policies (DPP) in accordance with international regulations and standards.In this way, the scope for the research selected a group of IRs that present such characteristics. This work aims to describe the structure of the DPP of the IRs of the LOCKSS networks, observing their compliance with the ISO 14721 and Trustworthy Repositories Audit & Certification: Criteria and Checklist (TRAC) standards, thus highlighting the situation of IRs in Brazil in contrast to that of other repositories on the same network. The methodology is based on exploratory, descriptive and qualitative research, which analyzes documentation on digital preservation policies, aiming to describe their structures and main characteristics. When using the comparative method, suggestive similarities and contrasts between cases are brought into focus. The results revealed that most of the IRs investigated have a well-defined digital preservation management structure that includes websites dedicated to Digital Preservation, Policies Framework, which are available online and are easily accessible. However, in the Brazilian context, there is still a long way to go, as the lack of DPP and other risk mitigation devices sets up an alarming scenario. It was concluded that DDP is a practice that provides a guarantee of longevity for the IRs in their networks, but this is only possible due to the fact that the Institutions responsible for the IRs develop their policies in accordance with the LOCKSS guidelines, which follow ISO 14721 and TRAC standards. Furthermore, a policy should not be built without the support of a framework structure to standardize the document.