Archiving and Digital Preservation Policy

Document control: Version 1.0 | Effective date 21 October 2026 | Approved by Publisher | Next scheduled review October 2027 | First version.

This policy should name only preservation services that are actually active for the journal.

Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to ensure the long-term availability, integrity, discoverability, and preservation of published scholarly content, including in the event of platform failure, publisher transition, journal discontinuation, or other operational disruption.

Preservation Commitment

• Published content shall be preserved independently of the journal’s live website wherever technically and contractually possible.

• Each journal shall participate in at least one recognized long-term digital preservation or archival service appropriate to its content and publishing model.

• The journal website shall identify the active preservation service(s) and, where available, provide a link to evidence of coverage.

• Preservation shall cover the Version of Record (PDF and, where produced, JATS XML/HTML), supplementary files, and post-publication notices, deposited no later than 30 days after publication.

Recognized Preservation Arrangements

Suitable arrangements may include a preservation agency listed in the Keepers Registry, CLOCKSS, LOCKSS (including the PKP Preservation Network for OJS journals), Portico, a national library legal-deposit scheme, PubMed Central where eligible, or another established service listed in the ISSN Keepers Registry; the Internet Archive may be used as a supplementary, not sole, mechanism that provides durable access and preservation. The publisher shall verify coverage before making a public claim.

Backup and Business Continuity

• The publishing platform shall maintain routine backups of website content, article files, metadata, and critical configuration data.

• Backups should be stored separately from the production environment and tested periodically for recoverability.

• Access controls and integrity checks should protect backup copies from unauthorized modification or loss.

Persistent Identifiers and Metadata

• Persistent identifiers such as DOIs should remain resolvable and be updated when URLs change.

• Metadata supplied to preservation services shall be accurate and sufficient to identify the journal, article, version, licence, publication date, and authorship.

• Where article metadata is deposited with external services, updates and corrections should be synchronized when feasible.

• Every article shall receive a Crossref DOI at publication with complete metadata (authors, ORCID iDs, affiliations, abstract, funder and grant identifiers, licence URL, reference list). Crossmark shall be implemented where feasible so that readers can verify the current status of an article.

• Article metadata shall also be supplied to DOAJ (where listed), OpenAIRE, Google Scholar (via Highwire/Dublin Core meta tags) and other discovery services, using a consistent journal title and ISSN.

• Files shall be produced in preservation-friendly formats (PDF/A or tagged PDF; JATS XML where available) with embedded fonts and article-level metadata.

Author Self-Archiving and Repository Deposit

Authors may deposit the submitted version (preprint), the accepted manuscript and the published Version of Record in institutional or subject repositories, on personal websites and in preprint servers, without embargo, provided the published version is cited and linked by DOI and the article licence is respected. The journal's self-archiving terms shall be registered in Sherpa Romeo and stated on the journal website.

Journal Transfer or Cessation

If a journal changes publisher, platform, ownership, or ceases publication, reasonable steps shall be taken to preserve published content, maintain DOI resolution, and ensure continued access through archival arrangements. Readers should be informed of material changes affecting access. Transfers shall follow the NISO Transfer Code of Practice, including notification of Crossref, the ISSN International Centre, DOAJ and indexing services, and migration of DOI ownership. On cessation, the last issue shall carry a notice, the ISSN record shall be updated, and the preservation service shall be triggered to release content.

Version Integrity

Archived versions must preserve the scholarly record. Any correction, retraction, or replacement shall be handled through a transparent post-publication notice rather than silent alteration of the historical record.

Verification and Review

Archival status should be checked periodically. If a service stops receiving content or coverage lapses, the publisher shall investigate and restore deposit or establish an alternative preservation route.

The publisher shall verify deposit coverage at least annually, record the date of verification, and publish on each journal website a preservation statement naming the service(s), the content covered and the date last verified. Backup restoration shall be tested at least annually and the test documented.

Reference Framework

DOAJ/COPE/OASPA/WAME Principles of Transparency and Best Practice (4th ed., 2022), Principles 8 and 13; ISSN International Centre Keepers Registry; CLOCKSS, LOCKSS/PKP PN and Portico participation requirements; Crossref DOI and Crossmark guidance; NISO Transfer Code of Practice; Sherpa Romeo; Clarivate Web of Science ‘content access’ criterion; Scopus ‘online availability’ criterion.