Intended for healthcare professionals

News Extra [these Stories Appear Only On The Web]

Archive of electronic journals planned:

BMJ 2000; 320 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.320.7232.402/g (Published 12 February 2000) Cite this as: BMJ 2000;320:402

Stanford University Libraries' HighWire Press believes that it has solved the problem of long term archiving of electronic journals, thus removing one of the main reasons for librarians' reluctance to embrace the new medium. HighWire Press hosts 170 journals on the world wide web, including the BMJ and a dozen of the BMJ Publishing Group's specialist journals. HighWire Press's announcement appears below.

HighWire Press ensures that online publications don't get lost in cyberspace

The Stanford University Libraries' HighWire Press announced Today (1 February 2000) that it had devised a comprehensive plan for preserving and assuring access to the more than 170 scholarly journals it hosts on the web. While protecting journal publishers, the plan addresses complex archival problems that can cause libraries and other consumers to be hesitant about subscribing to on-line academic journals.

“Preserving and protecting information is one of the core functions of libraries,” said Michael A. Keller, Stanford University Librarian and publisher of HighWire Press. “As librarians running HighWire as a service to academia and its publishers, we are just as concerned with the preservation of the online journals as we are with preserving rare books and manuscripts. The techniques are different, but the goal is the same: to make sure the information remains available and accessible, now and in the future.”

John Sack, Associate Publisher and Director of HighWire Press, said there is “no single ‘big fix” to online archiving. There are many layers that need to be coordinated over time, so it comes down as much to organization as to technology. “Online journals are particularly complicated, as they involve volatile access or subscriber …

View Full Text

Log in

Log in through your institution

Subscribe

* For online subscription