NASIG Newsletter

22nd CONFERENCE
STRATEGY SESSION 

Cooperative Trends in Digital Archiving: An Open Discussion
Eileen Fenton, Portico; Daviess Menefee, Elsevier; Marilyn Geller, Lesley University
Reported by Gail Julian

A librarian, a publisher, and an archive provider shared their perspectives on digital archiving.  Marilyn Geller focused on the library’s viewpoint.  Lesley University is an academic institution with 4500 FTE and several graduate programs.  To preserve print, they purchase archival quality books, bind journals, and retain journal backfiles.  Lesley is considering remote storage and is moving to electronic journal backfiles, for example JSTOR.  To preserve electronic, Lesley University has joined Portico.  Twenty-seven percent of their research level titles are in Portico.  Geller determined that Portico membership averaged $18.71 per title, per year, a small price to pay for the security provided.  Even after joining Portico, Geller still has concerns.  What happens if a “trigger event” occurs?  Who’s archiving aggregated databases?  What happens to content from small publishers and societies who do not participate in Portico or other ventures?  Geller also recalled the CLIR recommendations:  to encourage publishers to join archiving initiatives, for libraries to participate in at least one archiving program, press for more digital programs, and lobby archiving programs to work cooperatively.  For additional information, see CLIR pub 138, E-Journal Archiving Metes and Bounds:  A Survey of the Landscape, available at http://www.clir.org/pubs/abstract/pub138abst.html.

Daviess Menefee from Elsevier discussed their efforts and rationale in participating in archiving initiatives.  As the conomic model shifts increasingly from print to electronic, libraries no longer archive journal content locally.  Publishers are expected to maintain content indefinitely and migrate that content as technology changes.  Menefee feels that STM publishers have a responsibility to maintain a permanent record of scholarship.  In 1999, Elsevier made a commitment to archiving and in 2001, participated in a Mellon planning grant.  Elsevier has four levels of redundancy:  publisher maintained archives, exterior archives such as OhioLink, customers worldwide who receive a copy of everything published, and contractual agreements with Portico, CLOCKSS, and the National Library of the Netherlands.  Elsevier is reaching compliance with the CLIR report.

Eileen Fenton, Executive Director of Portico, described their mission as preserving scholarly literature for future researchers.  Their focus is on peer-reviewed scholarly journals.  The titles are recommended by libraries and range from large commercial publishers to small scholarly presses.  Portico is concerned with intellectual content, not functionality.  Once a title has been placed in the archive, it cannot be removed.  Customers who support the archive will receive access should a “trigger event” occur.  The archive is funded by libraries and publishers and currently contains approximately 6000 titles.  Portico provides a script which compares local library holdings against Portico by means of the ISSN.