JISC Collections: Post-Cancellation Entitlement Registry Scoping Project

Abstract

Since e-journals were first introduced into library collections, Post-Cancellation Access (PCA) rights and perpetual access have been a concern for librarians. Perpetual access concerns are being addressed by initiatives such as LOCKSS, CLOCKSS, PORTICO, among others. The same cannot be said for PCA rights. We haven’t yet seen any commercial, institutional or community initiative and work directed at addressing the problem. It is within this context that the JISC Collections: Post-Cancellation Entitlement Registry Scoping Project has been designed and implemented. It has explored in some detail what would happen if an institution wanted to ascertain from a publisher what its PCA rights were. The findings of interest to publishers and libraries are detailed in this article.