Home > News and Resources > Announcements > August 6, 2007

Portico conducts E-Book Preservation Study

The purpose of this study is to learn what may be required to develop a robust solution for the long-term preservation of e-books. The study will include an assessment of current e-book preservation needs in the library and scholarly publishing communities, the technological preservation requirements of the genre, and possible economic models able to support and fairly distribute the costs of e-book preservation.

Portico is pursuing this study in response to requests from publishers and libraries, and a key element of the study will be to assess whether e-book preservation is now required to support the community's further transition to greater reliance upon e-resources. We hope to understand whether Portico's archival infrastructure now actively preserving e-journals can be helpfully extended to respond to the emerging need to preserve e-books.

This study builds directly from Portico's mission to preserve scholarly literature published in electronic form and to ensure that these materials remain accessible to future scholars, researchers, and students. Our initial preservation efforts have been focused on the long-term preservation of electronic journals, which both librarians and scholarly publishers identified as an urgent preservation need. Portico's e-journal archiving service was developed through a pilot project that drew heavily upon engagement with publisher and library pilot participants, and we anticipate that a similar process now will be essential in understanding how or whether - Portico should respond to the challenges of e-book preservation.

The E-Book Preservation Study was launched in the Summer of 2007 and is expected to conclude at the end of the year. We look forward to sharing news of our progress with the community, and welcome questions, comments and input. Please contact us to submit any input.

Last updated on February 6, 2009