Conference Agenda

Sustaining open knowledge exchange depends on the reliability and trustworthiness of scientific data repositories. Certification frameworks provide structured benchmarks for best practices in repository management, stewardship, and preservation. However, attaining and maintaining certification can be complex, particularly for institutions facing resource or capacity constraints. The World Data System’s (WDS) Certification Subcommittee has developed guidance to support both formal certification and informal self-assessment processes.

This presentation will explore how certification and self-assessment contribute to balancing openness with long-term resilience by embedding FAIR and TRUST principles, robust preservation strategies, and adaptive governance into repository operations. The presenter will share lessons learned from recent WDS initiatives that lower barriers to participation, including peer-support networks and practical tools for continuous improvement. In addition, the presentation will address how certification criteria are evolving in response to emerging technologies—ensuring that repositories remain responsive to new opportunities while mitigating potential risks.

By fostering a culture of quality assurance through shared standards and collaborative assessment, the WDS community strengthens the global infrastructure for open science. Attendees will gain actionable insights on integrating certification and self-assessment into their own repository practices to enhance trust, sustainability, and inclusivity.

Digital repositories face an approaching crisis: digital objects increasingly circulate without institutional context, while rapid advances in generative AI make it difficult for users to distinguish authentic content from altered or fabricated material. Approaches that attempt to detect AI-generated content are unreliable and will soon be obsolete. Repositories must prepare for the shift from users asking “how can we tell this is fake?” to “how can we tell this is real?”

This presentation describes Northwestern University Libraries’ exploration of Content Credentials, an emerging content authenticity infrastructure based on the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity standards, as a proactive strategy for asserting authenticity and provenance. Over the past year, we have investigated how Content Credentials might be integrated into a digitization and repository workflow. We share our rationale for pursuing this approach and discuss why early adoption may benefit cultural heritage institutions. Attendees will gain practical insights into how Content Credentials could be adapted to their own repository environments and how early experimentation can help cultural heritage institutions maintain trust in an uncertain digital future.