Project Impetus
There are as many as 100,000 ISSNs assigned to e-serials, of which 28,000 to 48,000 are estimated to be for journal titles currently published in electronic form, depending on what is included (scholarly journals, newsletters and proceedings, government publications, etc.). There are many thousand additional, older titles that have been digitized and made available online for which an ISSN has not yet been assigned. The evidence Evidence shows that the extent of e-journal preservation has not kept pace with the growth of electronic publication. Studies comparing the e-journal holdings of major research libraries with the titles currently preserved by major agencies have consistently found that only 20-25%, at most, of the titles with ISSN's currently collected – let alone published – have been preserved. In early 2011, the libraries of Cornell and Columbia conducted a study as part of the 2CUL collaboration, and found, for example, that LOCKSS and Portico combine to preserve only a relatively small percentage of these libraries' e-journal holdings, less than 15% of Cornell's e-journal titles as a whole.
In the fall of 2012, a study using The Keepers Registry comparing the e-journal holdings of Columbia, Cornell, and Duke with the e-journals preserved by seven different agencies, yielded similar results, showing that only 22-27% of the subset of titles with an assigned ISSN had any volumes archived. Moreover, the extent of volumes archived for any given title varied greatly and was often sparse.[2|\]Wiki Markup \[1\]
Beyond the diversity of content, individual libraries, despite their concern for preservation, often lack effective means for taking action. One of the revealing findings of the 2CUL e-journal preservation study was that many staff at Cornell and Columbia only had a superficial understanding of the relevant preservation strategies and their implications – and of the roles of libraries in advancing the e-journal preservation front. Selection and acquisition processes may not involve any direct interaction with the publisher; many titles are acquired as parts of large packages, with no comprehensive provision for preservation. One of the proactive strategies proposed is developing language for a model license addressing preservation and sharing it with the publishing and library communities to set a timeline for implementation (e.g., in five years, all ARL libraries will aim to use the same licensing language). Also identified as critical was mobilizing advocacy to engage the key stakeholders and providing incentives for community-wide benefits. It is important systematically to engage publishers to address the problem and make this process transparent and public.
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Neither of the organizations had a formal process in place for the identification of e-journals for preservation consideration and, currently, neither organization records and manages details related to potential LOCKSS or Portico access in the libraries' local systems for the acquisition and management of electronic collections. Anecdotal evidence suggests a similar picture for other libraries: a lack of a streamlined process for attending to the archival status of e-journals. As we work to address the archival challenges of traditional e-journals, publishing continues to change rapidly and it includes enriched content that is layered, interactive, and dynamic. We risk falling behind. The success and sustainability of the proposed project requires concerted and continuing support from the key stakeholders such as libraries, publishing agencies, and preservation service providers. Therefore, the process strategy described above will be complemented with action that aims to address e-journal preservation upstream as a shared responsibility.
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Our overall goal is to take actions that will secure a preservation strategy for an additional 5,000-7,500 e-journal titles. We aim to have 1,500-2,000 titles preserved through direct action by the project team, with an additional 3,500-6,000 titles preserved through action by preservation agencies, e-journal aggregators, and other libraries, applying methods developed through the project, either within the time frame of the project or in the following one to two years. As described in the Timeline section, during During the first quarter of project, the Project Advisory Team will select an initial set of 20-25 e-journals for detailed investigation and action. The outcomes of this process will help the 2CUL team further refine and modify our strategy and projections.
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Using specific examples of titles identified as having high priority for action, the project will also test and promote methods appropriate to different categories of e-journals, to enable libraries, publishers, aggregators, and preservation agencies to take more effective action, including model language to include in model licenses, procedures for working with publishers to facilitate adoption of sound preservation practices , and recommended actions for preserving content locally, and suggested materials that can be used to raise awareness among university administrators, faculty, and authors. Project . Project results will be broadly disseminated, with the intention of building wider community participation and sustained momentum. The success and sustainability of the proposed project requires concerted and continuing support from the key stakeholders such as libraries, publishing agencies, and preservation service providers.
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