The DRS deposit freeze is now in effect, beginning April 15 and remaining in place through the week of May 18-22, when deposits are scheduled to begin in DRS3.

What to Expect During the Freeze:

No new deposits are accepted into DRS2. New deposits should now be made in DRS3.
Pre-existing DRS content is currently visible only in DRS2 WebAdmin (read-only mode). It will become available in DRS3 in Fall 2026.
DRS2 WebAdmin is being migrated to cloud infrastructure and made available in read‑only mode for reference and access to existing content.
Bulk downloads are no longer available through the DRS2 WebAdmin interface.
- Beginning Monday, April 20, you may submit requests to LTS Support for mediated bulk downloads, which will be handled on a case‑by‑case basis.
Delivery services for all previously deposited content will continue without interruption.
The Wordshack service, previously used to manage DRS2 administrative categories and vocabulary, is being retired.

Looking Ahead
For a high‑level overview of key dates and milestones leading up to the DRS3 release, please consult the Project Plan & Timeline.
See also the DRS3 Workflow Training information and DRS3 Depositor Guide.

If you have questions, need assistance, or would like to provide feedback, please contact us at drs-feedback@HU.onmicrosoft.com.

Background Information & Terminology

The Digital Repository Service (DRS) is transitioning its technical platform from an in-house solution (known unofficially as “DRS2”) to a vended solution (LIBSAFE Advanced, or “Libsafe,” also called “DRS3”).

Viewing, editing, downloading, and deleting content in DRS2 are done through a web interface called “Web Admin.” Depositing is done through a locally installed tool called “Batch Builder.” Vocabulary control is managed through a web interface called “Wordshack.”

Libsafe’s environment is called “the Workspace.” The complete implementation of Libsafe for Harvard will introduce a second facet to compliment the Workspace, called “the Archive,” which will complete the DRS Futures Project’s goals for the DRS3 platform. The Workspace will serve as a staging area for materials that are being prepared for long-term preservation in the Archive.

There will be at least two initial production releases of DRS3 before the Archive is available. Details about the differences in NDSA Levels of Preservation between DRS2, the initial workspace-only implementation of Libsafe, and the final implementation of Libsafe are available here.

1 Background Information & Terminology
2 Planned Releases
3 Development Wish List
4 Known Issues
- 4.1 DRS3
- 4.2 DRS2
5 Past Releases

Planned Releases

Description	Date	Software Version	Summary

Description	Date	Software Version	Summary
DRS3 onboarding release	Week of May 18-22, 2026	DRS 2.20 (read-only); DRS 3.1 (production)	Production release of workspace-only Libsafe environment Limited delivery of new content
DRS3 onboarding updates	Summer 2026	DRS 2.20 (read-only); DRS 3.2-3.x	Updates to workspace-only Libsafe environment Full delivery functionality for new content
DRS3 full production release	Fall 2026	DRS 3.y	Production release of Libsafe with workspace and archive

Development Wish List

In DRS Futures Project scope:
- Integration with Alma
- Advanced search in Archive
- Bulk check-out from Archive to Workspace for editing
- Download/reinstate file only (not whole object)
Beyond DRS Futures Project scope:
- Integration with LibraryCloud and ArchiveSpace
- Integration with ECM and SharePoint
- Reinstating to Workspace from Archive confirmation/alert/notification should include:
  - Whether or not it exists in Workspace already
  - Whether or not the Workspace copy is identical to the archive copy (to indicate if Workspace copy has had changes made that have not been committed to the Archive)
  - Who reinstated the Workspace copy (to know if it is someone else’s in-progress work or your own)

Known Issues

DRS3

DRS Environment

Automated metadata processing may not complete. - https://harvardwiki.atlassian.net/wiki/x/DwA2Ng
Automated submission control file processing may not complete. - https://harvardwiki.atlassian.net/wiki/x/MoAtNg
Errors in submission control file processing. - https://harvardwiki.atlassian.net/wiki/x/PYA-Ng
Need to update Container Metadata (owner contact info, billing info, etc). - https://harvardwiki.atlassian.net/wiki/x/FwA_Ng
Solution only contains Workspace functionality - ready for initial Go-Live week of May 18-22.
Solution includes Archive functionality - anticipated Fall 2026
Legacy objects not available in new environment - anticipated Fall 2026
All objects show Max Access Flag “N” in Workspace until Archive function is complete. When Archive function runs, Max Access Flag is updated to accurately reflect the maximum file-level access flag value.
Please note L4 content should not be deposited when DRS3 initially goes live.
The team is adding security measures to ensure L4 content is sufficiently supported. We will inform depositors as soon as L4 content can be securely ingested.
Users may mark material in DRS3 as “Ready for Archive” so that it is automatically moved to the Archive environment when it becomes available.
- Please do not delete objects after they have been archived. You may delete objects before they are marked as “Ready for Archive” and you may continue to delete files after objects have been marked as “Ready for Archive.” If you make changes to objects after archiving, please re-archive them so that the new changes are propagated correctly.
User cannot access the Containers by Archive Structure menu option and gets an orange warning message that “There are no archival structure nodes defined”. This is a known LIBSAFE system behavior seen during testing that is related to user permissions. Only users in permissions groups with cross-node, admin-level access (LTS, Digital Preservation Services) can use the Containers by Archival Structure menu option. Users with access to one node or a handful of nodes can use the Containers by Workflow or Content Search menu options to access their containers.

Support for Delivery of New Content

Still Images, Page-Turned Objects, and downloadable PDFs - ready for initial Go-Live week of May 18-22.
Audio, Video, Document (PDF), and Full Text Search - anticipated Summer 2026

DRS2

Please note that while bugs and other issues will be remediated as needed until the system is decommissioned, there will be no further development for DRS2 due to the transition to DRS3.

The DRS deposit freeze is now in effect, beginning today, April 15, and will remain in place through April 28, when deposits are scheduled to begin in DRS3.

What to Expect During the Freeze
While the freeze is in effect, please note the following changes:

No new deposits are accepted into DRS2.
DRS2 WebAdmin is being migrated to cloud infrastructure and made available in read‑only mode for reference and access to existing content.
Bulk downloads are no longer available through the DRS2 WebAdmin interface.

Beginning Monday, April 20, you may submit requests to LTS Support for mediated bulk downloads, which will be handled on a case‑by‑case basis.

Delivery services for all previously deposited content will continue without interruption.
The Wordshack service, previously used to manage DRS2 administrative categories and vocabulary, is being retired.

Looking Ahead
For a high‑level overview of key dates and milestones leading up to the DRS3 release, please consult the DRS Wiki page titled “Project Plan & Timeline.”

DRS3 Workflow Training information and DRS3 Depositor Guide are now available.