For both readers and authors, it is of utmost importance that journal papers are readily accessible with a high degree of certainty. It is necessary to differentiate between two distinct preservation time frames:
Short to medium term preservation strategy is understood as a publisher's in-house activity. There are two aspects:
•
Backup: SCIRP performs a real-time backup in multiple locations.
•
Access System Redundancy: The Scientific Research Publishing (SCIRP) platform enables access to its resources via multiple redundant servers, thereby minimizing any potential disruptions in service delivery and assuring users of high levels of accessibility and dependability.
Long term preservation strategy aims at safeguarding against the discontinuation of a publisher as a whole, specific journals, or back issues. This could transpire due to business interruption or failure resulting from bankruptcy, insolvency, catastrophic occurrences, technical failures, or natural disasters. Preservation solutions are available through specialized organizations and national libraries. However, while a vast range of such services exists, not all could meet the peculiarities of SCIRP's specific preservation needs.
SCIRP has made a deliberate move to archive all of its journal papers with
Portico in a bid to ensure long-term preservation of its resources. Full particulars regarding this initiative have been published on
SCIRP's page on Portico. Portico has been tasked with maintaining a dark archive of SCIRP's content which is, as is typical, not openly available. Only upon the occurrence of a "trigger event" will this archive be made accessible to the public via Portico's platform::
(A) The publisher is no longer in business.
(B) One title is no longer offered.
(C) Back issues are not available for a period longer than 90 days.
(D) Catastrophic failure: The publisher has suspended online accessibility to their publication for a duration exceeding 90 calendar days.
For triggered content the Document Identifier (DOI) will link to the content now available on Portico’s site.
Migration: Portico undertakes the conversion of electronic journal source files into an archival format, thus adopting the responsibility of ensuring future content conversion. This measure guarantees that SCIRP's journal articles will remain accessible and readable in the future, regardless of the technological format required.
The Center for
Research Libraries (CRL) conducted a preservation audit of Portico in 2009 and
certified Portico as a
trustworthy digital repository.
In brief, authors may rest assured that their writing endeavors shall not be futile, given that their journal papers will be perpetually available for future generations. Correspondingly, readers may rely upon receiving the sought-after article upon accessing the persistent link to the paper, notwithstanding the march of time.