Preservation Strategy Policy Document

For Academic, Scholarly, Scientific, Technical & Professional Research and Publishing

1. Introduction

The role of academic, scholarly, scientific, technical, and professional publishers is to contribute to the global knowledge base by publishing high-quality, peer-reviewed content. To ensure this knowledge is preserved for future generations, it is essential to implement a robust preservation strategy that aligns with the highest standards in digital and print preservation. This policy outlines our commitment to preserving the intellectual output we publish, ensuring its availability for researchers, educators, and professionals for years to come.

2. Purpose

The purpose of this preservation strategy is to outline the framework and key actions required to preserve digital and physical publications in perpetuity. It aims to safeguard research integrity, ensure long-term access, and address the challenges posed by evolving technologies, changing standards, and the risk of obsolescence.

3. Scope

This policy applies to all publications, including but not limited to:

  • Peer-reviewed journals
  • Books and monographs
  • Conference proceedings
  • Technical reports
  • Data sets and supplementary material
  • Working papers and grey literature

4. Goals and Objectives

  • Ensure the preservation of all scholarly content published by the organization.
  • Establish a process for digital preservation that mitigates the risks of format obsolescence.
  • Facilitate long-term accessibility to both digital and print content.
  • Comply with national and international standards for preservation and archiving.
  • Support authors, researchers, and institutions in fulfilling their preservation obligations.
  • Collaborate with external stakeholders, including libraries, archives, and repositories, to ensure a comprehensive preservation framework.

5. Preservation Framework

5.1 Digital Preservation Strategy

  • File Formats: All digital content will be preserved in widely accepted, non-proprietary formats (e.g., PDF/A, XML, and TIFF). Conversion of content to archival formats will be conducted to ensure long-term accessibility.

  • Metadata Standards: The organization will apply comprehensive metadata standards, including Dublin Core and other accepted schemas, to ensure content is easily discoverable, searchable, and properly documented.

  • Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs): Each digital publication will be assigned a DOI to ensure its persistent identification and easy access.

  • Redundancy: Content will be stored in multiple locations and platforms to prevent loss due to hardware failure, cyber-attacks, or natural disasters. This will include cloud-based systems, local servers, and external backup repositories.

  • Trusted Repositories: Content will be deposited in trusted third-party preservation platforms, such as CLOCKSS, Portico, and institutional repositories that specialize in digital preservation and long-term archiving.

5.2 Print Preservation Strategy

  • Archiving: Printed copies of all publications will be deposited in trusted library archives (e.g., Library of Congress, national libraries, and research institutions) to ensure redundancy and long-term physical preservation.

  • Digitization: Print publications, especially legacy content, will be systematically digitized to enhance accessibility and preservation, in accordance with copyright agreements and institutional policies.

5.3 Hybrid Approach for Multi-Format Publications

Some publications may contain digital components (such as datasets) alongside traditional print formats. In such cases, both digital and physical components will be preserved following best practices for each format. Clear policies will be established to ensure the preservation of multimedia and interactive content integral to the research output.

6. Compliance with Standards

The preservation policy will align with the following standards:

  • Open Archival Information System (OAIS): A reference model for the preservation of digital information.
  • ISO 14721: International standard for digital preservation frameworks.
  • DataCite and CrossRef: To ensure DOI-based identification and access.
  • LOCKSS (Lots of Copies Keep Stuff Safe): A strategy for redundant preservation.

7. Responsibilities

7.1 Publisher’s Role

  • Content Management: Ensure that all published content is preserved according to the framework outlined in this policy.

  • Collaboration: Work with digital archives, libraries, and third-party preservation systems to ensure continuous access to the research content.

  • Updates: Regularly review and update preservation strategies to adapt to technological advancements, legal requirements, and emerging standards.

7.2 Authors’ Responsibilities

  • Data Preservation: Authors are encouraged to submit their research data in formats suitable for long-term preservation.

  • Copyright and Licensing: Authors must ensure that they hold the necessary rights to grant the publisher permission to preserve and distribute the content perpetually.

  • Supplementary Materials: Authors should submit supplementary materials, such as datasets and multimedia files, in preservation-friendly formats.

7.3 Institutional and Library Partnerships

  • Institutional Repositories: The publisher will collaborate with academic and research institutions to deposit and preserve content in institutional repositories, following Open Access and FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) data principles.

  • National Libraries and Archives: The publisher will deposit physical copies and/or digital formats with national libraries or government-sanctioned preservation agencies as required.

8. Risk Management

The publisher recognizes potential risks to the longevity of preserved content and will actively mitigate these through:

  • Technological Obsolescence: Regularly update file formats, software, and hardware to ensure compatibility with current systems.

  • Data Corruption: Employ checksums, regular data integrity tests, and version control to detect and correct corrupted files.

  • Legal Risks: Ensure legal agreements, licenses, and rights management policies support long-term preservation, including post-contractual archiving agreements.

  • Environmental Threats: Utilize geographically dispersed data storage and disaster recovery plans to safeguard against fire, flooding, or other natural hazards affecting physical or digital archives.

9. Access and Use Policy

  • Open Access Compliance: The publisher will adhere to Open Access mandates where applicable, ensuring free and unrestricted access to preserved content within embargo periods or licensing agreements.

  • Licensing: All content will be licensed in a manner that facilitates long-term preservation, such as through Creative Commons licenses where applicable.

  • Digital Preservation Accessibility: Access to preserved digital content will be facilitated through trusted platforms, ensuring consistent, reliable, and long-term availability to end users, regardless of geographic location.

10. Review and Audit

The preservation strategy will be reviewed and audited biennially to ensure it remains current and effective. Technological changes, evolving standards, and feedback from the academic and research communities will be incorporated into future revisions of this policy.

11. Conclusion

The preservation of scholarly, scientific, and technical content is critical to advancing human knowledge and ensuring that research outputs are accessible to future generations. By adopting a robust and comprehensive preservation strategy, the publisher commits to maintaining the integrity, availability, and accessibility of its published content for the long term.