How to handle the masses – automated workflows as a solution for the collection and preservation of eBooks in the German National Library

Abstract

The number of e-books and online resources on the German book market as well as in other countries is increasing rapidly. In order to fulfil its legal mandate, the German National Library has decided to develop automated workflows for submission and processing of online publications, for their display in the catalogue and for the digital preservation of the files. In practise, no librarian or specialized employee performs any tasks related to the handling of an individual online publication. Instead, the effort is invested in motivating and supporting the publishers in fulfilling their duty to deliver the online resources on the one hand, and the preferred use of automated interfaces on the other hand. In addition, quality management monitors the automated processes, because automated processes need permanent improvement.

The paper focuses on the technical background and describes the four conditions necessary for automated workflows. Basically, the German National Library has established cooperations with publishers as a starting point for the collecting itself, which requires standardized metadata formats and interfaces for the ingest workflow processing. Another aspect is the technical solution to verify the quality and integrity of the digital objects. This part is important to assure the availability and usability for library users and the transfer into our digital preservation system.