The BitCurator Access project began on October 1, 2014 and ended on September 30, 2016. Funded through a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation (grant 31400605), the BitCurator Access team developed open-source software that support access to disk images through three approaches:
(1) Building tools to support web-based services
(2) Enabling the export of file systems and associated metadata
(3) Use of emulation environments with support for forensic disk image formats
The BitCurator Access project also developed a tool to redact files, file system metadata, and targeted bitstreams within disks or directories.
BitCurator Access focused on approaches to simplify access to raw and forensically-packaged disk images; allowing collecting institutions to provide access environments that reflect as closely as possible the original order and environmental context of these materials. The use of forensic technologies allows for detailed metadata to be generated reflecting the provenance of the materials, the exact nature of the file-level items they contain, and the metadata associated with both file-level items and data not observed within the file system (but still accessible within the original materials).
Software downloads and other products of the BitCurator Access Project can be found on the BitCurator Access wiki page.