Automated Validation of Trusted Digital Repository Assessment Criteria

The RLG/NARA trusted digital repository (TDR) certification checklist defines a set of preservation assessment criteria. The criteria can be mapped into management policies that define how a digital preservation environment is operated. We explore how these management policies can be automated through their characterization as rules that control preservation services. By integrating a rule-based data management system with the DSpace digital library, we expect to demonstrate automated audits of the TDR checklist. The system is sufficiently general that one can also demonstrate the completeness and self-consistency of preservation environments. This is the concept that all required preservation metadata are controlled by management policies, and that for each management policy the required preservation metadata are preserved.