CLARIND-UdS: Preservation Policy

CLARIND-UdS commits itself to the long-term care of items deposited in the repository, to preserve the research and to support the replicability of research results. Our repository strives to adopt the current best practice in digital preservation. We follow best practice guidelines, standards and regulations set forth by CLARIN and Text+.

To fulfill these commitments, the repository ensures that datasets are ingested and distributed in accordance with their license. If a license does not permit public access, only authorized users will be able to access the dataset.

The submission workflow (see Deposit Data) and the work of our editors ensure discoverability, e.g., by requiring accurate metadata. At the technical level, discoverability is implemented by our search engine, the external OAI-PMH (see Search/Use Data) as well as page metadata for certain web crawlers. The metadata of our datasets are freely accessible.

Each submitted dataset receives a persistent identifier (currently through the Handle System) which is assigned by the repository. Users are encouraged to use the handle when citing a dataset. We do not allow changes to datasets after a successful ingest. Instead we create a new version of the dataset that is linked to the original dataset that remains unchanged in the repository. In the case that a dataset is withdrawn and cannot be distributed any longer we keep the metadata and create a landing page stating the unavailability of the dataset.

The repository staff keeps up with current developments in technologies and requirements to archived datasets by active participation in Text+ activities as well as in participating in conferences and schools.

CLARIND-UdS encourages the use of Accepted File Formats that are selected for long-term stability. If a file format becomes obsolete the repository will make an effort to convert the files into a newer, more up-to-date format. The original dataset will remain available in any case.

In the unlikely event of a close-down of the repository, there are agreements with other repositories regarding the transfer and storage of the data.