SCALA is a project of AIDA , a network of nine heritage institutions, including Amsab-ISG. With AIDA, the partners aim to take concrete steps between 2019 and 2023 to address the most pressing shortcomings in the long-term preservation of digital archives. SCALA was made possible by a grant from the Flemish Government. The Flanders Architecture Institute (VAi) coordinated the project.
Why SCALA?
With AIDA, we aim to develop a collaborative solution for the long-term preservation of digital archives. Such a solution combines policy, services, and hardware and software. By pooling resources and expertise within AIDA, we can achieve more than if each partner were to approach digital archiving individually.
AIDA aims to develop a solution in accordance with some core values:
- Expertise building and knowledge sharing between heritage institutions
- Involvement of the partners
- A healthy autonomy towards technical suppliers
To investigate the feasibility of such a solution, we set up a use case with SCALA.
The SCALA use case
We carried out the SCALA project in two phases. In the first phase (2021-2022), we built a pilot system for the long-term preservation of digital archives. The system consisted of the open-source software RODA and ran on hardware from our partner, meemoo. The system was then thoroughly tested, including loading several large digital archives. The pilot system provided us with valuable insights into the possibilities and limitations of such a system and the importance of strong collaboration between the two organizations and with service providers.
The second phase (2022-2023) focused on creating a field map, developing an organizational model, and writing a business plan. We investigated the needs in the heritage sector regarding the preservation of digitally native private archives and described how AIDA can meet these needs.
Within the business plan, we examined the cost picture and investigated how we can expand the AIDA network into a sustainable partnership.
Discover all results on the CEST website .
