Digital Preservation at PRONI
PRONI has a responsibility to receive and preserve records that are part of Northern Ireland’s archival heritage. This responsibility applies equally to paper and digital records. Digital Preservation at PRONI aims to preserve digital records to make them available for future generations.
Digital Preservation Project
On 31 March 2015, PRONI launched its Digital Preservation System. The primary aim of this system is to store, preserve and provide access where possible to digital records. The records that we receive are created by government departments, public sector bodies and private depositors.
The system is made up of four key components:
Quarantine System
The Quarantine system acts as a staging post for records before they're transferred into the Digital Repository.
Data Preparation System
The Data Preparation System performs the functions and processes necessary to prepare digital records for permanent deposit in the Digital Repository.
Digital Repository
This is where the digital objects and their associated metadata are permanently stored.
Access System
Access copies are created for digital records which are open to the public and are made available through PRONI’s online fully searchable database eCatalogue or through CALM, the onsite electronic catalogue.