DRS3 Depositor Guide
This guide instructs users about structuring and applying metadata to digital content for ingest into the DRS in accordance with preservation recommendations.
For DRS3 system how-to instructions, please see the Libsafe User Guides and the DRS3 How-tos by Activity.
For information about content and user eligibility, system obligations, and service principles, please see the DRS Policy Guide.
For information about how to incorporate the DRS into a holistic collection management strategy, including where it fits into the Harvard Library systems landscape and how to select materials for preservation, please see the DRS Curator Guide.
DRS3 Depositor Guide
Digital Preservation Services
Version 0.1, April 21, 2026 [changelog]
Introduction
The Digital Repository Service (DRS) is the Harvard Library’s centralized infrastructure for the long-term preservation of digital collections, which span all genres and formats of digital content necessary for achieving both the University’s research, teaching, and learning mission and the University’s administrative and operational continuity. The DRS is a programmatic initiative that aims to fulfill Harvard Library’s longstanding digital stewardship needs and aspirations. At the core of the DRS is the technical platform (“the system”) that facilitates the preservation of digital materials with the integrity, authenticity, and usability required for responsible stewardship. The current system is a hosted instance of LIBSAFE Advanced.
This guide details how to structure files and apply metadata to Objects so that they are optimized for ongoing preservation stewardship in the DRS system. Note that the LIBSAFE Advanced platform imposes very few structural or metadata requirements, so it is possible to deposit materials to the DRS system that do not conform to this guidance; the system can accept and provide bit-level preservation for any format of digital content, but the efficiency and efficacy of preservation outcomes are dependent on the format of the material and the quality of the metadata that accompanies it. Following the guidance provided here will facilitate robust preservation stewardship as well as interoperability with other Harvard Library systems (such as delivery services).
Oversight of the DRS is shared between Digital Preservation Services (DPS) as service owners responsible for digital preservation stewardship, and Library Technology Services (LTS) as product owners responsible for the technical operation of the system. DPS staff are happy to answer questions about these recommendations and to consult about collections or materials which don’t easily conform to the Resource Types described in this guide. DPS can be reached via email at digipres@HU.onmicrosoft.com.
Depositor Guide Version Changelog
Version | Publication Date | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|
0.1 | 4/21/26 | Initial version including intro, core concepts, still image resource type guidelines, and page-turned resource type guidelines. |
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