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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
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