JISC has released the Sound Archives Film Image Repository Project's SAFIR Final Report.
Here's an excerpt:
The SAFIR project has achieved what it set out to do, to begin the task of building a multimedia repository infrastructure for the University of York. The project has successfully implemented software for the storage layer (Fedora Commons), along with an interface (Muradora) and has populated that repository with a pilot collection of images. It has implemented a degree of access control, developed metadata profiles, recommendations, policies, licences and copyright clearance procedures, implemented a basic level of interoperability and gathered knowledge and expertise. SAFIR has been a success although there is much more work ahead at York. There is a balance to be struck between taking time to consult and absorb best practice in order to make the best, sustainable decisions and the pressures of immediate needs and project deadlines. Having a JISC deadline has kept the project focussed and although we have tried to ensure that the right decisions were made, we may have sacrificed "best possible" in order to meet an immediate need, for example in our metadata profile decisions or our use of Muradora as an interface. In choosing open source software, in particular Fedora Commons, our development and implementation path is made longer, but the benefits of increased flexibility, building sustainable in-house skill and working in the wider context were seen to outweigh the benefits offered by a commercial solution. Whether this was the right decision remains to be seen, but the enthusiasm and commitment of the Digital Library team have galvanised around that decision. We have already faced a number of technical delays because of unforeseeable issues with the software and we must continue to ensure that sufficient development time is allocated to tasks. We have significant concerns about the maturity and support of some of the software tested for the project. Managing expectations and working with users is an ongoing process and requires significant attention.
