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[edit] Selecting and Building the Collection
Electronic journals are available either through institutional leases (subscriptions) or freely (open access). Subscription journals and open access journals require slightly different collection development processes.
- Open Access Titles
We recommend libraries, particularly those supporting research collections, collect and preserve all freely available titles that fit their collection development guidelines. A substantial and growing body of intellectual material is currently published through open access electronic journals.Small publishers using marginal business models produce most of this literature. This places it at immediate risk of loss; it has a low probability of surviving unaided for future scholar access. It is imperative that libraries form communities of interest and collaborate to collect and preserve this information. Fourteen large research libraries have initiated such an effort for the Humanities literature. Thirteen large research libraries are using LOCKSS to preserve government documents with the Government Documents PLN. Others are considering similar efforts for agriculture, newspapers, etc.
See: Working with Open Access Titles
- Subscription Titles
We recommend libraries collect and preserve all subscription electronic journals, including those purchased through consortia. Two actions are required:
- Using the web-based administration tools, configure your institutional LOCKSS Box to collect and preserve those subscription titles released to the system. See the list of titles.
- Collaborate with LOCKSS Alliance participants to encourage other publishers to participate in the LOCKSS Program. For information regarding the status of current publisher conversations, contact us.
In order to preserve a title through the LOCKSS system, the following conditions must be met.
- The publisher has granted permission.
- The publishing platform for that particular title is supported by a LOCKSS plugin.
- There is a critical mass of libraries (at least six) that agree to collect and preserve the title.
[edit] Obtaining/Confirming Publisher Permissions
International law mandates that permission be obtained to collect, preserve, and provide access to copyrighted content. The LOCKSS system requires this permission to be obtained from the publisher. Normally this will be done by LOCKSS Alliance participants or by the first librarian who wishes to preserve a given title. In most cases, once a publisher grants LOCKSS permission for a unit of content (called an Archival Unit), this permission applies to all institutions with authorized access to that content. For example, for an electronic journal, an Archival Unit is typically a volume or a year of content.
Publisher Permissions:
- Required: Online permission for the LOCKSS system to crawl the content via a LOCKSS publisher manifest (example) or suitable Creative Commons license
The manifest is a web page that contains a permission statement, which applies to one or more Archival Units (typically a volume) and lists the URL(s) of the top-level of each Archival Unit.
- Suggested: Legal language giving librarians permission in a contract or terms and conditions statement.
This contract language should permit libraries to:
- Collect and preserve currently accessible materials;
- Use this material consistent with the original license terms;
- Provide copies for audit and repair to other authorized collections.
Publisher Permission Example:
http://highwire.stanford.edu/tfocis/guidelines.dtl
ARCHIVING: Publishers acknowledge that Institutional subscribers may participate in the LOCKSS system for archiving digitized publications. To benefit from this support, Institutional subscribers must install a LOCKSS Box at their Institution. (See http://lockss.stanford.edu for further information.) The Institutional subscriber may perpetually use the LOCKSS system to archive and restore Journal content, so long as the Institutional subscriber's use is otherwise consistent with these Guidelines. Publishers further acknowledge and agree that, in using the LOCKSS system, Journal content may be made available to other LOCKSS system participants who indicate a right to the subscribed Journal content.
Most publishers are happy to consider the LOCKSS program. LOCKSS is affordable, it fulfills librarians' demands for perpetual access, and many publishers want their content available to current and future scholars. The LOCKSS Alliance will facilitate publisher disclosure of permissions to minimize the community's discovery and transaction costs. Disclosed permissions apply broadly to libraries and do not require individual institution negotiation.
[edit] Building/Acquiring the Publisher Plug-in
Each publishing platform (HighWire, Atypon, Ingenta, Project Muse, etc.) requires a LOCKSS plugin. The plugin software tailors the LOCKSS system so that it works effectively and efficiently with a publisher's system.
The LOCKSS system handles the content it preserves in chunks called Archival Units or AUs. (For electronic journals this usually corresponds to a single volume.) Each Archival Unit requires a plugin to provide platform- or journal-specific knowledge, and is configured with whatever information is needed to specify a particular volume or other chunk of content.
The LOCKSS daemon (the heart of the LOCKSS system) is configured with a list of sources of plugins, which may be the local disk or HTTP servers on the network. The daemon loads the plugins it needs, based on the configuration information stored for each Archival Unit in its disks. Plug-ins are signed by their authors and others who vouch for them; librarians may decide which signers they wish to trust.
Depending upon the title and the publisher, plugin software is available from:
- Publishers,
- The LOCKSS Alliance,
- Library partners.
See also the Plugins page.
[edit] Confirming/Recruiting a Critical Mass of Colleagues
Maintaining a critical mass of titles (lots of copies) is essential to the safety and survivability of any one title. Consortium communities are natural safe havens for jointly purchased titles, titles of geographic interest, etc. Tentative data suggest that each title should have at least seven redundant copies on the LOCKSS system. The Alliance will facilitate libraries maintaining a critical mass for commonly held titles, and for titles of interest to the Alliance community
The Alliance will facilitate publisher communications for participating libraries.
