Press release: Jisc issues call to preserve online journals
1 November, 2005. Access to entire back runs of electronic journals could be lost to educational institutions when subscriptions are cancelled or when journals cease publication. Because libraries can only lease access to electronic journals, in contrast to their print equivalents, their assets are at risk and valuable online content is in danger of being lost.
Jisc, in partnership with CURL (Consortium of Research Libraries in the British Isles), today issued a call to librarians and publishers to meet these challenges together. An extended pilot will see the LOCKSS system, devised at Stanford University, deployed in selected libraries in the UK from January 2006.
LOCKSS - ‘Lots of Copies Keep Stuff Safe’ - is a low-cost system that preserves access to a library’s online journals in a local ‘LOCKSS box’ in a manner acceptable to publishers. The chosen libraries will each keep copies of the journals they subscribe to and together they will ensure continued access to subscribed online journals even if a publisher should disappear, a journal cease publication, or the library end its subscription.
The pilot will be supported by the Digital Curation Centre (DCC) through the provision of technical advice and training, and by Content Complete, Jisc’s agent for Nesli2 in negotiating journal license deals. Participating libraries will help identify additional titles to include in the programme.
Robin Green, Executive Director of CURL, said that it was important that university libraries came forward to participate in the pilot programme: “The profile of digital preservation has increased significantly in recent years, but there is still a great deal to do in this area and libraries have a vital role to play. We hope that a great many will be interested in playing their part in this important programme.”
Lorraine Estelle, Collections Team Manager at Jisc, said: “One of the great barriers to the uptake of online resources in general, and journals in particular, is the perception that they lack permanence. Without assured future access to paid-for content institutions are reluctant to move to electronic-only subscriptions. LOCKSS removes the difficulty at a stroke and provides a very practical way of guaranteeing access to what are vital resources for academic institutions.”
Chris Rusbridge, Director of the DCC, said: “The elegance and practicality of the LOCKSS approach is very appealing. We are delighted to be able to support this project, which truly complements our mission.”
Albert Prior of Content Complete, who will lead the discussions with publishers, called on publishers to collaborate with libraries in ensuring the preservation of online journals: “LOCKSS provides both libraries and publishers with a practical and economic solution for ensuring continuing access to key journal content. We look forward to meeting with publishers to discuss the aims and benefits of LOCKSS and the issues for implementing the system.”
A town meeting will be held in London on the 2 December to which all interested libraries and publishers are invited. Further details, including the call for participation, are available at: further details
For further information, please contact:
Philip Pothen (Jisc)
Robin Green (CURL) on 0121 415 8106 or robin.green@curl.ac.uk