Distributed digital preservation: preserving open journal systems content in the PKP PN

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1108/DLP-11-2017-0043
Date12 November 2018
Published date12 November 2018
Pages246-261
AuthorBronwen Sprout,Mark Jordan
Subject MatterLibrary & information science,Librarianship/library management,Library technology,Records management & preservation,Information repositories
Distributed digital preservation:
preserving open journal systems
content in the PKP PN
Bronwen Sprout
University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, and
Mark Jordan
Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, Canada
Abstract
Purpose This paper aims to discussthe public knowledge project (PKP) preservation network(PN), which
provides free preservation services for eligible journals by collecting article content and preserving it in a
network of (at the time of writing) eight preservation nodesusing the LOCKSS system. The PKP PN was
launchedin June 2016.
Design/methodology/approach This paper addresses the developmentand implementation of a free,
distributed digital PN for open journal systems (OJS) content. It discusses challenges in developing the
network, in particular relating to preserving content from a set of partners who have no formal business
relationshipwith PKP. The paper examines data regarding journals that have optedin to the network to date
and considersinterface usability and other barriers facing thosethat have not joined.
Findings Within 18 months of launch, more than600 journals had opted to be preserved in the PKP PN.
Many more journals are eligible to join the network; the paper explores potential strategies to increase
participationand identies and proposes methods to overcome technicaland communication barriers.
Originality/value This paper describesa highly collaborative, open-source preservationinitiative which
forms a uniquepart of the e-journal preservation landscapeand preserves a particularly vulnerable portionof
the scholarlyrecord.
Keywords Partnerships, Open journal systems (OJS), Digital preservation, Open source software,
Open access journals, Private LOCKSS network (PLN)
Paper type Case study
Introduction
In June 2016, the public knowledge project (PKP) announced the launch of a preservation
network (PN) to digitally preserve journals that publish using the open journal systems
(OJS) software. The vast majorityof the estimated 10,000þjournals published using OJS are
not preserved by a recognized digital preservation service. The PKP PN meets this need,
providing free preservation services by collecting article content from any eligible OJS
journal and preserving it in a network of (at the timeof writing) eight preservation nodes
based on the lots of copies keeps stuff safe (LOCKSS) system. Aftera trigger event when
the original journal is no longer accessible permanently the content will be made publicly
available in one or more access nodesrunningOJS.
The PKP PN, which is a free service provided by PKP and its partners, was launchedin
June 2016 and nearly 18 months later, almost 600 journals are being preserved in this
worldwide PN (joining at the rate of about one per day). While this adoption is not
insignicant, it represents only a small portion of OJS journals, many of which are open
access and published by small publishers,and at particular risk of loss. Factors such as OJS
DLP
34,4
246
Received1 November 2017
Revised23 May 2018
Accepted6 September 2018
DigitalLibrary Perspectives
Vol.34 No. 4, 2018
pp. 246-261
© Emerald Publishing Limited
2059-5816
DOI 10.1108/DLP-11-2017-0043
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/2059-5816.htm
user interface and workow design as well as awareness of the service and of preservation
risks all play a part in journal participation in the network. The authors discuss the
challenges encountered in developing the PN as well as strategies for increasing
participation.
Context for the public knowledge project preservation network
The PKP is a multi-university initiative based at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver,
British Columbia, which develops free open source software and conducts research to
improve the quality and reach of scholarly publishing. It is perhaps best known for
developing the OJS software, which was launched in 2002 and is now the worlds most
widely used journal management and publishing system, made freely available worldwide
for the purpose of making open access, peer-reviewed publishing a viable option for more
journals[1]. PKP was establishedin 1998 by John Willinsky, then at the University of British
Columbia, and now at Stanford University. The central objective of PKP since that time
continues to be improv[ing] both the scholarly quality and public access to the body of
research knowledge in a sustainable and globally accessible form(Owen and Stranack,
2012, p. 138). In support of this objective, PKP invests in ongoing work to improve
the software it develops in addition to OJS, this includes Open Conference Systems and
Open Monograph Press and contribute to enhancing the technology for scholarly
communication.
Testament to its popularity, the number of OJS journals has grown steeply since the
initial release of this software, especially over the past 10 years. In 2016, more than 10,000
journals published more than 400,000 articles using OJS, with the highest concentration
of usage in Latin America and the Caribbean, followed by East and Central Asia and
Europe[2].
Using only the simple metric of the volume of scholarly content being produced and
managed in OJS journals, their preservation status is worthy of concern. However, further
data, based on a survey conducted by PKP in 2009, suggests that OJS journals are
particularly vulnerable to loss. The results of this survey showed that OJS journals are
primarily born digital,published by independent or scholarly publishersand predominantly
open access. It also showed that they are operating on a budget, without the resources
available to commercial publishers(Edgar and Willinsky, 2010). Among the use cases for e-
journal preservation identied by Neal Beagrie in a (2013) DPC Technology Watch Report,
two are particularly applicable to these journals: if the publisher ceases operating or their
operations or servers suffer catastrophic failure, this content would likely disappear (2013).
As Seadle explains:
[...] [f]ew librarians serious expect a large publisher like Elsevier or Springer to vanish overnight,
but the danger for a publisher with only one or even fewer than ten titles is historically much
larger (2011, p. 194).
Prior to the launch of the PKP PN, the available distributed preservation options were not
practical for most OJS journals. The major, well-established e-journal preservation
services LOCKSS, controlledLOCKSS (CLOCKSS) and Portico are not a good t because
of cost, membership requirements or content restrictions. LOCKSS is an open source,
library-led digital preservation system that was developed and is based at Stanford
University. The primaryimplementation of this software is the Global LOCKSS Network (or
GLN) which preserves mainly subscription-based journal content. Publishers participate in
the GLN at no cost, which would seem to align this preservation option with OJS journals.
However, at the time of writing, the GLN preserves content from around 200 OJS titles (out
Open journal
systems
content
247

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