1. MetaArchive Distributed Digital Preservation Workshop Session 3: Costs and Operational Considerations Wednesday, May 30, 2007 Robert W. Woodruff Library Emory University Atlanta, Georgia

2. 5/30/07DDP Workshop -Session 1Slide 2 Session 3: Learning Objectives Understanding Start-up costs and Ongoing Costs: Attendees will understand general cost issues in operating a distributed digital preservation network, as well as specific costs of a MetaArchive- style network. Technical Infrastructure: This session will provide attendees with an overview of the spectrum of options for technical infrastructure in distributed digital preservation, ranging from hosted solutions to operating a dedicated network. Roles and Responsibilities: Attendees will gain an overview of the roles and responsibilities involved in digital preservation network operations, using OAIS reference model concepts and other relevant frameworks. Special focus will be devoted to staff functions at individual institutions.

3. 5/30/07DDP Workshop -Session 1Slide 3 Cost Terminology Startup cost: Expense incurred for the creation or development of new products or services Capital cost: Costs incurred for the purchase of items such as items to be used in the production of goods or services. These are one-time expenses although payment may be spread out over many years. Capital costs are fixed and are therefore independent of the level of output (aka CapEx) Operating cost: Expenses incurred in relation to continuing to offer a product or operate a service (aka OpEx, or recurring cost) Burn rate: Rate of cash expenditure of startup and operating capital, usually measured monthly, an important metric during startup of a new venture that is not yet economically viable. Deferred cost: Expense that is known and expected to occur in future periods, but can be delayed Avoided cost: Cost not incurred, due to intentional scope or plan limits

4. 5/30/07DDP Workshop -Session 1Slide 4 Cost Terminology (cont.) Total lifecycle cost: Sum of all costs incurred over a full product, service or system lifecycle, over decades, centuries or millennia. Lifecycle costing approaches are used in construction, manufacturing, energy, agriculture and waste management industries. Sunk Cost: Expenses that have already been incurred and which cannot be recovered to any significant degree. Economics proposes that a rational actor does not let sunk costs influence one's decisions, because doing so would not be assessing a decision exclusively on its own. Variable Cost: Expenses that change in direct proportion to the activity of a business; also, costs that will change due to the proposed course of action. Fixed Cost: Expenses whose total does not change in proportion to the activity of a business, within the relevant time period or scale of production. Marginal Cost: Also known as “Incremental Cost,” this is the change in total cost that arises when the quantity produced changes by one unit.

5. 5/30/07DDP Workshop -Session 1Slide 5 Start-up Costs – MetaArchive Example Major Cost Categories: –Staffing –Hardware –Travel and Meetings Notes: –MetaArchive was the first major distributed digital preservation network for archives (LOCKSS was first for online journals), subsequent start-ups may be able to avoid some of the costs we incur

6. 5/30/07DDP Workshop -Session 1Slide 6 Staffing Central Costs for Cooperative: –Project Director (10% FTE) –Project Manager (50% FTE) –Systems Administrator (100% FTE) Individual Member Institutions –Steering Committee member (10% FTE) –Local System Administrator (10% FTE) –Archivist/Preservationist (5% FTE total)

7. 5/30/07DDP Workshop -Session 1Slide 7 Hardware Local cost of setting up a MetaArchive server is $12K for hardware (generic Intel server, with large drive array) Approximately $3K for technical labor of installation (sunk cost, already covered in staffing)

8. 5/30/07DDP Workshop -Session 1Slide 8 Travel and Meetings Central Costs for Cooperative: –The cooperative provides for meeting expenses for the Steering Committee meetings, held twice a year ($2K) –The cooperative also send the project manager and systems administrator to make presentations at workshops/conferences ($5K) Individual Member Institutions –Steering committee members and other involved staff may be supported by their institutions for professional development to make presentations; depends on institutional subsidy policies

9. 5/30/07DDP Workshop -Session 1Slide 9 Operating Costs Summary Central Costs for Cooperative: –Staff: approximately $110K annually, plus $10K sunk costs in existing staff time –Meetings: approximately $7K Individual Member Institutions –Staff: approximately $24K sunk costs in existing staff time ($144K total, six institutions) –Hardware: approximately $12K each ($72K, six institutions) –Travel: optional additional subsidy by local institutions

10. 5/30/07DDP Workshop -Session 1Slide 10 Staff Roles and Responsibilities Program Manager: Coordinates communication among partners, organizes Steering Committee meetings, monitors the listserv and website, monitors and reports on the network, publicizes the network and model, and identifies and applies for grant projects to support the network’s development. During the start-up process, the project manager also assists the project director in the coordination of the writing, editing, and finalizing of key documents, including the scope document, the Charter, and the Membership Agreement. Node Systems Administrator: The main systems administrator for the Cooperative establishes the network, the Cache Manager and the Conspectus Database. The local node systems administrators each establish, maintain, and monitor individual nodes, monitor their nodes’ relationships to the overall network, coordinate with the other local node systems administrators, and conduct network testing on an as-needed basis. Ingest Module (Plug-in) Programmer: Creates plugins and manifest pages for all collections submitted for harvest by a member institution. Data Wrangler: Readies content for harvest, prepares conspectus entries