This draft report is the first guide for determining whether a digital repository can be certified as a trusted location for digital collections. Developed by a task force of experts assembled by RLG and National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), the draft is available for public comment. Please see a copy below and comment by January 2006.

• Audit Checklist for Certifying Digital Repositories (pdf)
  
• Comment on this draft

Who can benefit?
The document benefits those who work in or are responsible for digital repositories and who want to be certified against its requirements, as well as for those who execute the audit and certification process. However, the guidelines are also designed for a much broader audience—for organizations planning repositories and for producers of digital materials.

When does it come in handy?
—For staff working within repositories: The checklist is useful in helping them to determine the criteria they need to plan for and to meet for safely storing and migrating digital materials.
—For producers of digital materials: It also serves producers of digital materials by helping them know what to expect from the repositories they work with and how to streamline interactions with the repositories.
—For those considering outsourcing their digital materials storage: The checklist will help organizations considering an external agency to serve their digital preservation needs to ensure that contracted organizations are executing the task adequately.

RLG's role: RLG and NARA spearheaded this initiative as part of our continuing commitment to the needs of developing reliable repository certification procedures. As part of this goal, we will also play a key role in the auditing and certification of digital archives project undertaken by the Center for Research Libraries. This hands-on test of the audit checklist, supported by a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, runs through October 2006. For further information about digital repository certification, please see Digital Repository Certification. For information about the certification task force, please see Certification Task Force.