Digital Preservation

01 · SCOPE

Works and components to be retained

The scope includes published digital editions of books, monographs, edited volumes and chapters, together with their covers, tables of contents, bibliographic information, reading files and publicly accessible supplementary materials.

Each edition must retain its relationships with the relevant chapters, files and editorial notices. Unpublished proposals, assessments and confidential documents are handled under the privacy statement and the obligations applicable to editorial records.

02 · BACKUP AND RECOVERY

Operational protection of the platform

Technical administration must document a plan for recovering the database, publication files and configuration elements required to restore the platform.

• Specify backup frequency, retention periods and storage locations.
• Assign responsibilities and restrict access to backups.
• Keep a copy separate from the primary environment.
• Test restoration and record results and incidents.

Backup frequency and recovery targets must reflect verified capabilities. Hosting backups support recovery from operational failures but do not, by themselves, demonstrate independent long-term preservation.

03 · LONG-TERM ARCHIVING

Verifiable publication coverage

Editorial leadership must assess independent archiving arrangements suitable for books and chapters, considering accepted formats, deposit rights, service sustainability and access conditions if publishing operations are interrupted.

Once a service is implemented, this page must identify its name, the works or collections covered, the start date and available evidence that files have been received. Purchasing a service, installing a plugin or expressing an intention does not, by itself, demonstrate that a work has been preserved.

04 · INTEGRITY AND VERSIONS

Retaining identifiable editions

Publication files must remain associated with their edition and metadata. New editions and substantive changes must be identified so that readers can distinguish them from earlier versions.

Technical procedures must include file integrity checks and documentation of format or platform migrations. Readability, content integrity and relationships between a work and its components must be checked before and after a migration.

The handling of corrections and other notices affecting the published record is addressed in the publication ethics and integrity policy.

05 · DISCOVERY AND CONTINUITY

Access during changes or interruptions

Publication pages and metadata must be updated when access locations change. For content with a registered DOI, its destination URL must be kept current. A DOI identifies and helps locate a work; it does not store the full text.

Following a technical interruption, administration must assess the incident and apply the available recovery procedure. Restoration times will depend on the incident and the arrangements actually implemented.

If operations may cease, editorial leadership must seek alternative custody or transfer arrangements for public publication files and metadata. Any agreement must respect rights, licences and confidentiality, and specify who will retain the works and the conditions under which they can be accessed.

06 · RESPONSIBILITY AND MONITORING

Documented implementation

Editorial leadership coordinates institutional decisions, custody agreements and public information. Technical administration documents backups, integrity checks, recovery tests and incidents.

This policy must be reviewed when providers, the platform or archiving agreements change. Every public preservation claim must be supported by evidence corresponding to the works and periods stated as covered.