The basics of digital preservation: What is long-term archiving and why is it important?

What is long-term archiving/digital preservation?

Digital Preservation “refers to the series of managed activities necessary to ensure continued access to digital materials for as long as necessary … to all of the actions required to maintain access to digital materials beyond the limits of media failure or technological and organisational change” (Glossary - Digital Preservation Handbook, n. d.) The terms "digital preservation" and "long-term archiving" are frequently used interchangeably.

The key goals of digital preservation include maintaining the authenticity, integrity, and usability of digital objects despite technological changes and format obsolescence. This involves regular updates, format migrations, and adherence to standards and best practices.

Digital preservation has 3 main levels:

Image: Publisso, Preservation Planning and Action (https://www.publisso.de/en/digital-preservation/preservation-planning)

This image exemplifies that redundant storage is not enough for digital preservation - it is merely a basis for it.

The following video describes the basics of bitstream preservation some of which can be done by creators and organisations themselves. It provides an introduction to the basic principles, however, in many cases not all of the mentioned aspects are subject to the editors' decision-making.

Digital preservation and digitization are not the same thing: Digitizing content only creates a copy of the analog content which is supposed to be preserved. It may be lost for scholarly record before the printed version of the journal.

Backups are important but digital preservation and backup are not the same thing: A backup is a copy of data made for the purpose of recovery if the original data is lost or damaged. Backups are typically short-term solutions designed for immediate data recovery. They do not necessarily take into account the long-term accessibility or usability of data as technology evolves. Backups are often periodic and automated, but are not a comprehensive strategy for preserving digital content over time. Format migration and preservation policies are not in place. The data in a backup is not structured. Metadata is very sparse, making objects difficult to find and manage.

Hence, digital preservation is a complex process where all the actions that ensure that content is transferred between a provider and a consumer need to be well thought out and documented. The creation of extensive metadata is necessary to ensure that files retain their readability and intelligibility, and that access to them is aligned with the relevant rights. This is exemplified in the OAIS model, where content is "travelled" within different information packages (IP) containing metadata and the document itself, with potential variations in format between packages.

Image: Mathieualexhache (original work); Mess (SVG conversion & English translation), CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

If you would like dive deeper into this issue visit the Digital Preservation Handbook from the Digital Preservation Coalition.

Digital preservation is critical for scholarly journals because:

1. It ensures the integrity and traceability of the scholarly record: Preserving digital content ensures that the scholarly record remains accurate and reliable over time. It protects against data loss, corruption or unauthorised alteration, thereby maintaining trust in scholarly work. This is essential for verifying research results and supporting reproducibility, ensuring that all research data and publications can be traced back to their original sources. 
2. It allows for access after the discontinuation of a journal: If a journal ceases publication, the preserved digital content remains accessible to researchers and the public under certain conditions (cf. ch. 2 "Digital preservation services and how they work"). This helps to ensure the longevity and continued availability of valuable scholarly work. Implementing digital preservation practices can significantly enhance the credibility and sustainability of a journal.
3. It ensures compliance with standards and requirements, such as:
   

1. Crossref lists under Member's Obligations "Archives. The Member shall use best efforts to contract with a third-party archive or other content host (an "Archive") (a list of which can be found here) for such Archive to preserve the Member's Content and, in the event that the Member ceases to host the Member's Content, to make such Content available for persistent linking" (Membership Terms, 2022)
2. Plan S, which lists under "Mandatory technical conditions for all publication venues" "Deposition of content with a long-term digital preservation or archiving programme (such as CLOCKSS, Portico, or equivalent)" 
3. DOAJ application criteria best practice: “The journal content should be continuously deposited in a long-term digital archiving system." 
4. The Diamond OA Standard: "The publisher has a publicly displayed archival and digital preservation policy which is consistently implemented. The published content is deposited in at least one digital preservation service. (REQUIRED)“ (DIAMAS Project Consortium, 2024, pp. 28-29)

It should be noted that most standards only address preservation services listed in the Keepers Registry and not other institutional and national services.

What is the current situation regarding digital preservation of OA journals?