Open Archival Information System (OAIS)
An ISO reference model (ISO 14721) describing the functions and information an archive needs to preserve digital content over the long term and make it accessible to its users.
The Open Archival Information System (OAIS) is the foundational reference model for digital preservation, standardized as ISO 14721. It describes — at a conceptual level — the functions an archive must perform and the information it must capture to preserve digital content over the long term and keep it usable for a designated community of users.
OAIS frames preservation around processes like ingest (accepting content), archival storage, data management, administration, preservation planning, and access, and around “information packages” that bundle content with the metadata needed to understand and verify it. It’s a model, not a piece of software: real repositories implement OAIS concepts using standards like PREMIS for preservation metadata and practices like fixity checking and format migration. OAIS is the shared vocabulary behind “trustworthy digital repository” certification and most serious digital preservation programs.