What is Flexible Intake

Flexible Intake is a LIBSAFE Advanced module, that can be used to preserve content with a reduced subset of functions or as an staging area, to keep the content protected while it is modified or enriched.

It can be used as a cloud-based service or deployed on your own premises. It protects the content as soon as it is ingested, creating its integrity/fixity information and replicating it in multiple geo-dispersed, self-healing copies.

While LIBSAFE Advanced requires for a full data model definition in order for the platform to be ready for ingesting content, the Flexible Intake module complements it making the data modeling optional.

Preservation collections for which organizations want to have a more structured data model can be preserved directly into LIBSAFE Advanced, but the following scenarios usually exist:

• For some other preservation collections, a less strict data model can make sense. If having fixity management, storage replication, characterization, technical metadata extraction and malware scan is enough, keeping the collection's objects in the Flexible Intake area is a good option, as it is really easy to ingest content on it.

• For some others, the content may not be ready for its final preservation, and someone needs to process it. Instead of keeping it outside the preservation platform, the Flexible Intake module allows a simple content ingest, that automatically applies a simple set of preservation principles to the content, to make it secure while the content is re-structured or improved.

The Flexible Intake Active Screening Technology allows you to automatically verify if the uploaded files contain malware (that may be harmful), obsolete formats (that you may be unable to open in the future) or duplicated content.

The original file/folder structure you upload is retained, organized in the same way you had it originally, but you can reorganize it inside the platform at any time later on, add metadata, search for your content and share it easily.

Advanced users can add their own processing workflows, including custom processes, that run the configured actions automatically (no matter how complex they are), and can even use Jupyter notebooks to automate renaming, metadata import/export or data analysis.

Continue reading here or go to:

• The CONCEPTS section, to get used to the Flexible Intake terminology and architecture.

• The GETTING STARTED section, for a practical, hands-on introduction to the usual processes.

• The CONFIGURATION section, on how to create structures, policies, configure the system and permissions.