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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: Oct 19, 2026
Digital preservation service
Digital preservation system
Digital preservation tool
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.

Domain Relevance

  • Agricultural biotechnology
  • Agriculture, forestry, and fisheries
  • Animal and dairy science
  • Arts (arts, history of arts, performing arts, music)
  • Basic medicine
  • Biological sciences
  • Chemical engineering
  • Chemical sciences
  • Civil engineering
  • Clinical medicine
  • Computer and information sciences
  • Earth and related environmental sciences
  • Economics and business
  • Educational sciences
  • Electrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering
  • Environmental biotechnology
  • Environmental engineering
  • Generalist (no disciplinary-focus)
  • Health biotechnology
  • Health sciences
  • History and archaeology
  • Industrial biotechnology
  • Languages and literature
  • Law
  • Materials engineering
  • Mathematics
  • Mechanical engineering
  • Media and communications
  • Medical engineering
  • Nano technology
  • Other agricultural sciences
  • Other engineering and technologies
  • Other humanities
  • Other medical sciences
  • Other natural sciences
  • Other social sciences
  • Philosophy, ethics and religion
  • Physical sciences
  • Political science
  • Psychology
  • Social and economic geography
  • Sociology
  • Veterinary science

Mission

The Academic Preservation Trust preserves and secures diverse digital scholarly and cultural content for member institutions, enabling sustainable management and long-term access through collaborative and trusted, community-built infrastructure.

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

Technical Attributes

Maintenance Status

Actively Maintained

Open Code Repository

Implemented
Website (Opens in new window) Website (Opens in new window)

Technical Documentation

Implemented
Website (Opens in new window)

Code License

Implemented
Website (Opens in new window)

Open API

Implemented
Website (Opens in new window)

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

Metadata

  • REST

Preservation

  • OAIS
Other:
TDR (ISO 16363), PREMIS

Hosting Options

  • Through solution only

Community Engagement

Code of Conduct

Implemented
Website (Opens in new window)

Community Engagement

Implemented
Website (Opens in new window) Website (Opens in new window) Website (Opens in new window) Website (Opens in new window) Website (Opens in new window)

Contribution Guidelines or Fora

Implemented
Website (Opens in new window)

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
Website (Opens in new window)

Commitment to Equity & Inclusion

Implemented
Website (Opens in new window)

Governance Records

Implemented
Website (Opens in new window)

Governance Structure & Processes

Implemented
Website (Opens in new window)

Transparent Pricing and Cost Expectations

Implemented
Website (Opens in new window)

Policy Statements

Access Conditions

  • Fee required
  • Institutional membership available

Board Structure

  • Multi-board governance

Board Level

  • Other
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

Revenue Sources

  • Institutional memberships
  • Other
Other:
University of Virginia

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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