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Academic Preservation Trust (APTrust)

Academic Preservation Trust (APTrust)
United States of America
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About

Launched: 2014
Record Updated: Nov 14, 2025
Digital preservation service
At APTrust, we believe in collaborative, inclusive, and sustainable open infrastructure, prioritizing portability and interoperability for our members. By leveraging the same diverse cloud technology as Fortune 500 companies and fostering accountability through transparent practices, we empower institutions to steward their digital assets confidently. Through innovative software development and a commitment to advocacy for open and equitable infrastructure, we ensure our members have an affordable and efficient digital preservation storage service that meets their evolving needs.

Mission

The Academic Preservation Trust (APTrust) is a consortium committed to sustaining secure, diverse, and open digital infrastructure to preserve the scholarly and digital cultural record. Our members collaborate to overcome complex sociotechnical and fiscal challenges to preservation.

Key Achievements

In 2021, APTrust pioneered a new, cost-effective way to conduct fixity checks in the cloud. This method has been shared widely and adopted by many other repositories around the world.
In the fall of 2022, APTrust deployed the latest generation of our preservation services. This included rewriting our applications to use Go instead of Ruby on Rails. This change made our repository 16 times more CPU efficient and 300 times more memory efficient. It also greatly reduced our energy consumption, making our repository greener.
In August 2024, APTrust passed 500 TB of unique digital content being preserved in our repository.

Technical Attributes

Maintenance Status

Actively Maintained

Open Code Repository

Implemented
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Technical Documentation

Implemented
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Code License

Implemented
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Open API

Implemented
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Open Product Roadmap

Implemented
2025 Roadmap (Opens in new window)

Technical Attribute Statements

Programming Languages

  • go

Technology Readiness Level

  • Actual system proven in operational environment

Code Licenses Used

  • Apache License, Version 2.0
  • BSD licenses

Standards

Preservation

  • OAIS
Other:
TDR, PREMIS

Hosting Options

  • Through solution only

Community Engagement

Code of Conduct

Implemented
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Community Engagement

Implemented
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Contribution Guidelines or Fora

Implemented
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Community Statements

User Contribution Pathways

  • Contribute funds
  • Contribute to code
  • Contribute to documentation
  • Contribute to education or training
  • Contribute to governance
  • Contribute to user research or user testing
  • Contribute to working groups or interest groups

Community Engagement Activities

  • Annual meetings
  • Blogs
  • Community calls
  • Conference participation
  • Development sprints
  • Interest, working, user, or advisory groups
  • Mailing lists and discussion forums (including Slack)
  • Staff roles with responsibility for community engagement
  • User research
  • Webinars and training

Engagement with Values Frameworks

  • It Takes a Village Open Source Software Sustainability toolkit

Policies & Governance

Governance Summary

The Governing Board is the primary governing body for APTrust; however, member institutions contribute actively to governance through input gathered by the Board. The Board defines and recommends strategic direction to meet operational and strategic goals, and it provides advice and oversight for the budget and finances. The Board meets in person or by phone as needed and holds an annual meeting with all institutional members. The APTrust Advisory Committee comprises two representatives from each of the APTrust Sustaining Member institutions. They are appointed annually by their respective deans, and two members of the committee are selected to serve as co-chairs and liaisons to the APTrust Governing Board, where they are voting members. Advisory Committee members bring expertise in their respective fields, as well as in policy matters and priorities, to APTrust. The group keeps the broader community informed about and connected to the developing digital preservation infrastructure.

Policies

Bylaws

Implemented
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Commitment to Equity & Inclusion

Implemented
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Governance Records

Implemented
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Governance Structure & Processes

Implemented
Website (Opens in new window)

Transparent Pricing and Cost Expectations

Implemented
Website (Opens in new window)

Policy Statements

Board Structure

  • Multi-board governance

Board Level

The Governing Board is the primary governing body for APTrust; however, member institutions contribute actively to governance through input gathered by the Board. The Board defines and recommends strategic direction to help meet operational and strategic goals and provides advice and oversight for the budget and finances. The Board meets quarterly in person or by phone as needed and holds an annual meeting of the Board with all institutional members. APTrust is legally constituted as part of the University of Virginia. Activities and operating guidelines of APTrust are subject to the rules and policies of the University of Virginia, as are any contracts between individual member institutions and the University of Virginia.

Community Governance

  • Formal

Additional Information

Organizational History

https://aptrust.org/about/background/

Organizational Structure

Business or Ownership Model

Fiscal sponsorship (academic institution)

Full-time Staff

1-5

Current Affiliations

University of Virginia

Funding

Primary Funding Source

  • Program service revenue

Financial Reporting Level

  • Both

Funding Needs

Investment in APTrust allows us to hire dedicated staff with decent jobs. It allows us to further our mission by enhancing, extending, and maintaining our services for our members. Investments allow us to implement our Associate Membership model to extend APTrust services to organizations of all sizes.
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