earkisto

Earkisto is a Basque term used to refer to an electronic archive or digital archive. The word is formed from the prefix electronic "e-" and arkisto, the Basque word for archive; in Basque-language discourse it denotes both the concept of digital archiving and the software systems that implement it. In library and archival contexts, earkisto platforms are designed to ingest, store, preserve, and provide access to digital materials such as documents, images, audio, and video.

Key features typically include metadata schemas for description and discovery (for example Dublin Core or MODS), preservation metadata (PREMIS), versioning, fixity checks, access controls, and long-term preservation plans. Earkisto projects commonly support standards-based interfaces such as OAI-PMH for metadata harvesting and RESTful APIs for retrieval. They also address preservation strategies like format migration, emulation, and bit-level integrity checks to ensure accessibility over time.

The term appears in Basque-language library science literature and among digital heritage initiatives in the Basque-speaking regions, where it is used to discuss both physical repositories and cloud-based or on-premises digital repositories. As a concept, earkisto emphasizes both the technical architecture of digital archives and the cultural responsibility of preserving Basque heritage and other digital assets for future researchers and the public.