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Preservation and Archiving Policy | Archives of Surgery and Clinical Research

Principles & Objectives

Preservation ensures that the scientific record remains accessible and intelligible decades after publication. ASCR follows a multi-layered approach: redundant storage and backups; exposure of machine-readable metadata for harvesting; assignment of persistent identifiers and clear versioning; compatibility with community preservation networks; and public linking of corrections and retractions. Our goals are to maintain the integrity (content is unaltered or versioned transparently), authenticity (files are provably the same as when published), and availability (content remains retrievable despite technology, organizational, or economic change).

Our Preservation Layers

Preservation Networks & Services

ASCR supports participation in established preservation networks to provide community-governed redundancy beyond the publisher’s systems. For Open Journal Systems (OJS) deployments, this includes compatibility with the PKP Preservation Network (PKP PN) via the official plugin and alignment with LOCKSS/CLOCKSS approaches. Participation may depend on eligibility criteria (e.g., ISSN status, OJS version) and separate agreements with network operators. When enabled, these networks provide dark-archive storage and trigger access if the journal becomes unavailable.

Note: Network participation status may evolve. We publish any changes to preservation partners on this page and link to relevant service pages where readers and libraries can verify coverage.

Interoperability & OAI-PMH Harvesting

We expose machine-readable records for harvesting by indexers and repositories using OAI-PMH (Dublin Core and, where supported, JATS). Harvesters should capture DOIs, license URLs, versioning relations, ORCID iDs, and funding metadata. Our aim is to make the VoR discoverable through library systems, subject repositories, and open discovery services using standard, vendor-neutral protocols.

Versioning, DOIs & Update Notices

Each research article is assigned a DOI that resolves to the article’s landing page. Post-publication updates (corrections, retractions, expressions of concern) are issued as separate notices with their own DOIs and bidirectional links to the affected article. Where a substantially new version replaces the original, we use relation types to show precedence and ensure readers can trace the history of changes. PDF and HTML articles display update badges and links to the record of changes for full transparency.

Preferred File Formats & Documentation

  • Articles: Archival PDFs with embedded fonts and searchable text; where feasible, enriched HTML and/or JATS XML to support accessibility, mining, and long-term usability.
  • Figures & media: TIFF/PNG for images; SVG for line art; MP4/H.264 or open alternatives for video with caption files (VTT/SRT).
  • Data & code: Deposit datasets and software in trusted repositories that issue persistent identifiers; cite them in the article and metadata.
  • Supplementary materials: Provide readme files describing content, provenance, and licenses for any third-party materials.
Tip for authors: Use non-proprietary, widely adopted formats whenever possible. If you must provide a proprietary format, consider adding an open surrogate (e.g., CSV alongside XLSX) to aid future reuse.

Trigger Events & Perpetual Access

Preservation networks provide trigger access if content becomes unavailable due to catastrophic failure, publisher cessation, or other qualifying events. Our policy recognizes that dark-archive operators may release preserved content under their governance rules to maintain scholarly access. If a trigger event occurs, we will post a public notice and update DOIs to point to the preserved copies where appropriate. Libraries and repositories should continue to resolve DOIs, which will always reflect the current authoritative location.

Integrity, Fixity & Audits

ASCR uses checksums to verify file integrity at ingest and during scheduled audits. Any detected discrepancies are reconciled from redundant copies. When metadata changes (e.g., funding updates), we re-deposit to Crossref and refresh site JSON-LD/OAI-PMH records. We retain audit logs for preservation operations and make public update notices for any changes that affect the scholarly interpretation of the work.

Roles & Responsibilities

For Repository & Library Partners

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you have an embargo before authors can deposit the VoR?

No. Articles are open access on publication under CC BY 4.0. Authors may deposit the VoR PDF in repositories and on personal or lab websites with the citation, DOI, and license notice intact.

Does the journal participate in PKP PN or other preservation networks?

Our policy and infrastructure are compatible with PKP PN and LOCKSS-based networks. Eligibility and activation depend on criteria such as ISSN registration and platform configuration; where active, we will list specific networks on this page and provide verification links.

How are corrections or retractions preserved?

Update notices are citable items with their own DOIs. We deposit metadata to establish relations between the notice and the affected article and display the status on the article page and PDF. Repositories should harvest and display these relationships to maintain the integrity of the scholarly record.

What happens if the journal website is unavailable?

Redundant storage and preservation networks are designed to protect access. In a trigger event governed by a preservation network, content may be served from the dark archive under that network’s policies. We will update the DOI targets and post public notices to guide readers and libraries.

What can authors do to improve preservation outcomes?

Use recommended formats, include ORCID and funding metadata, and deposit data/code in trusted repositories with DOIs. Always cite the VoR DOI in repositories and preprints to help discovery tools consolidate versions.

Contact

Preservation and interoperability queries: support@clinsurgeryjournal.com · Editorial updates (corrections/retractions): editorial@clinsurgeryjournal.com