What it Means to be a Repository: Real, Trustworthy, or Mature?

Archivists occasionally describe digital repositories as being "not real," suggesting that their technical digital preservation infrastructure is inadequate to the task of digital preservation. This article discusses the concept of digital repositories, highlighting the distinction between digital repository technical infrastructure and institutions collecting digital materials, and what it means to be a "real" digital repository. It argues that the Open Archival Information System Reference Model and notions of Trustworthy Digital Repositories are inadequate for determining the "realness" of a digital repository and advocates using maturity models as a framework for discussing repository capability.