Describes how to prepare and submit digital objects for long-term digital preservation and retrieval, but does not specify technologies, techniques, or content types. The OAIS Reference Model defines an archival information system as an archive, consisting of an organization of people and systems that has accepted the responsibility to preserve information and make it available and understandable for a designated community (i.e., potential users or consumers), who should be able to understand the information. Thus, the context of an OAIS-compliant digital repository includes producers who originate the information to be preserved in the repository, consumers who retrieve the information, and a management/organization that hosts and administers the digital assets being preserved. The OAIS Information Model employs three types of information packages: a Submission Information Package (SIP), an Archival Information Package (AIP), and a Dissemination Information Package (DIP). An OAIS-compliant digital repository preserves AIPs and any PDI associated with them. A SIP encompasses digital content that a producer has organized for submission to the OAIS. After the completion of quality assurance and normalization procedures, an AIP is created, which is the focus of preservation activity. Subsequently, a DIP is created that consists of an AIP or information extracted from an AIP that is customized to the requirements of the designated community of users and consumers.
