Digital Preservation: PLOS Partners with CLOCKSS to Safeguard its Journals

From a Joint Announcement:

As we navigate the digital age, the landscape of academic and scientific publishing has transformed. The convenience of digital formats allows for quicker dissemination and wider access to scholarly work, but this shift also presents challenges. Unlike traditional print media, digital content faces risks such as technological obsolescence, data corruption, platform closures, and natural disasters.

To address these challenges, PLOS [(Public Library of Science] has formed a strategic partnership with CLOCKSS to ensure the long-term preservation of its digital content. This collaboration is a significant step for both organizations, as it guarantees that PLOS’s diverse portfolio of 14 journals, covering fields such as biology, medicine, climate science, public health, and genetics, will be preserved in a distributed archival network. The aim of this partnership is to protect essential scientific content for future generations, ensuring that, despite potential technological changes or unforeseen events, the knowledge within these journals remains accessible.

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This partnership offers numerous benefits that align with both organizations’ mission. First and foremost, CLOCKSS guarantees long-term preservation of PLOS’ vast collection of research. CLOCKSS’ expertise in digital preservation allows PLOS to focus on its core mission of advancing open-access publishing without worrying about the long-term survival of its digital content. CLOCKSS employs proven archival methods that protect against threats such as platform obsolescence and data corruption. In doing so, the organization ensures that the open-access content of PLOS journals will not be lost despite the rapid pace of technological change.

Direct to Complete Announcement (about 680 words)

Filed under: Associations and Organizations, Data Files, Digital Preservation, Libraries, News, Open Access, PLOS, Preservation, Public Libraries, Publishing