The Digital Preservation Coalition (DPC) is pleased to announce its members’ preview of the latest in its series of Technology Watch Reports, ‘Preservation, Trust and Continuing Access for e-Journals’. Written by Neil Beagrie, and published in association with Charles Beagrie Ltd., this report discusses the critical issues of preservation, trust and continuing access for e-journals, particularly in light of the dynamic and interdependent resources they have become, as well as the ever-growing trend towards open-access.
With extensive experience in this field and a particular reputation for his policy advice on e-journals and the cost/benefits of digital preservation for Jisc and others, Neil tells us that these “issues have become increasingly important for research libraries as published journals and articles have shifted from print to electronic formats; and as traditional publishing business models and relationships have undergone major transformations as a result of that shift.”
With these issues in mind, the report provides a comprehensive review of the latest developments in e-journal preservation, outlining key considerations and an application of best practice standards. The report introduces a range of service providers that now support continuing access and/or preservation of e-journals and how research libraries have increasingly come to trust them.
Neil explains that “for trust to be established between libraries and digital preservation services there needs to be clear agreements for long-term archiving, and clear procedures and mechanisms for those agreements to be implemented and validated when necessary across all elements of the supply chain.”
Matthew Herring from the University of York is sure that the report provides answers to these requirements, calling it “a clear, comprehensive and informative introduction to the area… if I was trying to grapple for the first time with long-term e-journal access, I would find this a very helpful guide.”
While ‘Preservation, Trust and Continuing Access for e-Journals’ predominantly addresses issues felt most keenly by libraries, scholars and publishers, the report also includes generic lessons on outsourcing and trust learnt in this field of interest to the wider digital preservation community. It is not solely focussed on technology, and covers relevant legal, economic and service issues.
The DPC Technology Watch Reports identify, delineate, monitor and address topics that have a major bearing on ensuring our collected digital memory will be available tomorrow. They provide an advanced introduction in order to support those charged with ensuring a robust digital memory, and they are of general interest to a wide and international audience with interests in computing, information management, collections management and technology.
The reports are commissioned after consultation among DPC members about shared priorities and challenges; they are commissioned from experts; and they are thoroughly scrutinized by peers before being released. The authors are asked to provide reports that are informed, current, concise and balanced; that lower the barriers to participation in digital preservation; and that they are of wide utility. The reports are a distinctive and lasting contribution to the dissemination of good practice in digital preservation.
- The report is available as a preview to DPC members at: http://www.dpconline.org/component/docs/doc_download/913-twrejournalspreview-sept2013
- If you are not yet a member of the DPC you can get a preview by joining us: http://www.dpconline.org/join-us
- The report will be released to the public on 30th October 2013