- Past Sponsee, Sunset
MetaArchive Cooperative
The MetaArchive Cooperative has played a pioneering role in shaping the landscape of digital preservation.
As a member-governed cooperative, it consistently demonstrated the value of a decentralized, risk-mitigating digital preservation storage network created and hosted by memory organizations themselves. Over its two decades of operation, MetaArchive navigated significant changes in the broader economic and digital preservation environment, as well as evolving needs within its own membership.
Faced with increasing challenges to sustainability, the Cooperative made the difficult decision to sunset in April 2024, after careful reflection, deep exploration of multiple future pathways, and extensive consultation. This decision marked the end of an era but also opened the door to new possibilities for its member organizations, which would either migrate their content to an existing PLN or alternative bit-level digital preservation service, continuing their commitment to digital preservation in new configurations. As MetaArchive’s fiscal sponsor, it was also an opportunity for Educopia to collaborate with different stakeholders to consider what we might compost from all the learnings, achievements, conversations, partnerships, and insights that the Cooperative has cultivated over the course of its two decades of functioning. Some of these composted resources can be found at the bottom of this page. Others will find their way to new collaborations, discussions and presentations at conferences, and as case studies in preservation practice.
MetaArchive’s sunset was guided by the work of the Transformation Research Team (TRT), a collaborative effort between MetaArchive, Educopia, and the LOCKSS Program. Their task was to ensure that the sunsetting process was deliberate, transparent, and well-documented. This involved integrating months of research, stakeholder input, and strategic planning, resulting in the creation of a sunsetting budget, timeline, and detailed dissolution of assets plan. Importantly, the sunsetting process was not just about logistics; it was about respecting the deep emotional ties and trust that had been built within the MetaArchive community. The goal was clear: to execute a responsible and thoughtful transition that honored the Cooperative's values and ensure that the accumulated knowledge and experience of its members will benefit digital preservation practitioners and the field at large long after the completion of MetaArchive’s sunset.
Key milestones along MetaArchive’s journey towards a deliberative, thoughtful sunset can be explored via MetaArchives in-transition blog posts below, which highlight the questions we were asking, the rationales behind our decision-making, the ways we prioritized clear communication with members, the insights and learnings we gained, as well as the unexpected obstacles and opportunities we encountered along the way—all with the aim of demonstrating to external digital preservation stakeholders that endings should be handled with the same attention, investment, and care as beginnings. In chronological order:
April 15, 2024 | MetaArchive Leads PLN Transformation
This post details the very beginning of MetaArchive's transition process—when the Cooperative was considering multiple future pathways in response to questions about its sustainability. It highlights key moments in the Cooperative’s 20-year legacy, recent mitigation efforts and attempts to address its longer term challenges (forming a task force, improving central administrative infrastructure, fundraising, etc.), the most-recent factors triggering the transition, and the formation of the Transformation Research Team to guide members through possible future pathways.
Download MetaArchive Leads PLN Transformation [PDF] / View on Wayback Machine
May 30, 2024 | Frequently Asked Questions
This comprehensive FAQs document provides an overview of the ongoing transition of the MetaArchive Cooperative, and was focused on anticipating and answering questions that members would be holding. Key topics include context of the transition (the Cooperative’s sustainability, closure of grant proposals, Educopia making data-informed changes to its business model); the details of the Transformation Research Team (TRT); future pathways for members; member billing and invoicing. The FAQs also outlined Cooperative-wide support and communication mechanisms, and the broader impact on other digital preservation networks (PLNs).
Download Frequently Asked Questions [PDF] / View on Wayback Machine
July 2, 2024 | MetaArchive Cooperative Quarter 2 Report
This document outlines the activities of the Transition Research Team (TRT), formed to manage MetaArchive's transformation and sunset process. It highlights key steps such as conducting member interviews, holding open office hours, and identifying potential pathways for member migration. The document also describes deliverables like blog posts, one-pagers, feedback forms to ensure transparent communication, and upcoming goals for Q3 2024 (including cluster calls with prospective adopters, customized content transfer plans, asset disposition, and sunsetting budget revisions).
Download Quarter 2 Report [PDF] / View on Wayback Machine
September 17, 2024 | MetaArchive is Sunsetting: Updates and Learnings from a Community in Transition
This document outlines MetaArchive’s process of sunsetting the Cooperative and supporting members in transitioning to new digital preservation pathways. By answering the question, “Having created such strong, values-driven and trust-based relationships within our network, how would we untangle these connections between members, committees, project partners, and external agencies without causing harm?”, it details the efforts and outcomes of the Transition Research Team (TRT) as it stewarded the Cooperative through the process of: Strategizing communications & making space for member input and feedback (key takeaways from MetaArchive member 1:1s and office hours); Ensuring the continuity of our members’ digital preservation efforts (cluster calls for individual member adoption by other PLNs/creation of new PLNs); Attending to transitional needs (asset disposition mapping, Committee Chair feedback, transition support); and aligning the Cooperative’s finances (sunsetting budget and plan revision).
Download MetaArchive is Sunsetting: Updates and Learnings from a Community in Transition [PDF] / View on Wayback Machine
March 28, 2025 | MetaArchive Sunset Announcement
This announcement details the formal sunset of the MetaArchive Cooperative, effective March 31, 2025, after over 20 years of service as the first and longest-running private LOCKSS network. It outlines the transition process, including the return of member data or its temporary storage in a new transitional network, Dandelion Archive, until members can migrate their data to new systems. The post also addresses the technical, financial, and social aspects of the transition, including data preservation, financial stewardship, and the allocation of remaining funds to support community engagement, professional development, and knowledge justice initiatives.
Download MetaArchive Sunsetting Announcement [PDF]
Quick links to 'composted' post-sunset resources:
- Wayback Machine crawl of MetaArchive Cooperative’s [now deactivated] website
- [Coming Soon] Recording and transcript of MetaArchive’s March 2025 open community call focused on PLN futures: a moderated panel discussion of the collective experiences of MetaArchive and other PLN members to vision and build a healthy LOCKSS and distributed digital preservation ecosystem
- GitHub repository of code and documentation related to the technical operation of the MetaArchive network
- LOCKSS wiki with PLN start-up docs: a collection of templates drawn from MetaArchive for the start-up and operation of other PLNs
Quick links to documentation of mitigation strategies:
- 2016 - 2018: SuperNode Pilot Project
- 2019 - 2020: Change for Continuing Impact:
- June 17, 2021: MetaArchive Announces New Membership Levels
- July 27, 2021: MetaArchive’s New Mission, Vision, and Values
- 2022: Project Mycelium
- March 2023 - March 2024: Community Research Task Force