Strategies for expanding e-journal preservation

Abstract

The responsibility for and the initiative to preserve electronic journal content is neither clear nor easy, and knowing the preservation status of an e-journal is not a basic step within the NASIG Core Competencies for Electronic Resources Librarians life cycle of electronic resources management. Columbia and Cornell University Libraries secured funding for a project to specifically evaluate strategies for expanding e-journal preservation. A wide range of e-journal categories are evaluated within the scope of the project, including: content direct from publishers, small and society publishers, Open Access e-journals, full-text content from third-party content providers, and university generated e-journals. Discussed are techniques for identifying at risk e-journals, integrating preservation into license negotiation with publishers, tracking the preservation status of e-journals, and developing relationships with existing preservation agencies. The quality of future of scholarship and teaching hinges on the preservation of the scholarly record.