The Handle System

Tonight I came across an old WiKi post I completed when working on my CDIM. It is kinda a fun one- so I thought I would re-post it. It could still be useful to some of you…
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IRLS 671- Unit 12- Wiki Entry- The Handle System

For this entry I have opted to explore the Handle System. I found this system interesting as I read about it this week. The system bears a strong resemblance to the wide world of trucking. The truckers are way ahead of us aren’t they?! For years truckers have used their CB code language utilizing this type of system in the most basic form. Each trucker has his or her unique identifier! The twist on this is… Would a handle be confidential in the archival world since it is unique? Now that is a good question. Some of the interesting handles I found in the 10 codes included: 10-1, Receiving poorly; 10-2, Receiving well; 10-7, Out of service, leaving the air; 10-35, Confidential information; 10-63 Net directed to; 10-64, Net clear; 10-75, You are causing interference; and 10-77, Negative contact. The truckers are on it!

I was able to uncover that the system is used for some of the following reasons: digital presentation of information and the preservation of that information over long periods of time; uniform location of digital information; and it is also “used to identify digital resources whose metadata, such as location information, need to be updated from time to time and obtained by rapid resolution on the net.” This is very similar to a CB call. I learned that the Handle System utilizes a combination of security features such as: passwords, public keys, and private keys. The security embedded in the system identifies administrators as “admin handles,” used for the authentication of that said administrator. There are also permissions within permissions in order to further create and modify handles. The Handle System uses a proxy server to interpret both the Handle System protocol and HTTP protocol. I did read somewhere recently that the Handle System is superior to HTTP as it will be around much longer (which means it will have greater preservation capabilities). In conclusion, this system would be good to look at. I am interested to see how it is used in connection with DSpace later so we can use code 10-2 instead of getting a 10-1!

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