Author name: Matt Smithers

In the digital age, preserving the scholarly record is a strategic imperative. As such, CLOCKSS stands at the forefront of this mission, offering a resilient and community-governed archive that protects content even when publishers or platforms cease to exist. Behind its preservation goals lies a sophisticated system architecture built for scale, flexibility, and long-term access. […]

Digital scholarship is at the heart of today’s research and learning. Without a clear plan, valuable knowledge can slip away through format changes, platform shifts, technology failures, or simple aging. A library digital preservation strategy sets out what you’ll keep, how you’ll keep it safe, and who is responsible – so the scholarly record you

In July 2023, CLOCKSS began a 15-month journey to better understand the environmental impact of our long-term digital preservation service. While our mission is to safeguard scholarly content for future generations, we recognize that sustainability must also guide how we operate. We’re now sharing a high-level analysis of our carbon footprint, and some important lessons

CLOCKSS is proud to launch a pilot program to preserve Diamond Open Access publications – at no cost to participating libraries, whether current supporters or new to our community. Diamond OA journals, published without author or reader fees, play a vital role in inclusive, community-driven scholarship. Yet, many lack the resources for long-term digital preservation.

Insights from a Webinar with Roxanne Massingham (ANU) and Alicia Wise (CLOCKSS) In an age of rapid technological transformation and an ever-expanding digital scholarly landscape, the question of how we preserve the integrity, accessibility, and diversity of knowledge has never been more pressing. This was the central focus of a recent webinar featuring Roxanne Missingham,

At CLOCKSS, we were deeply saddened to read about the continuing attacks on Ukrainian publishing interests, as reported by Publishing Perspectives. The destruction of publishing houses, books, and libraries is not only a humanitarian tragedy—it is an assault on cultural memory and the right to knowledge. IPA Blasts Russian Attacks on Ukraine’s Publishing Sites As

On June 24th, we had the pleasure of hosting a dynamic webinar featuring Alicia Wise, Executive Director of CLOCKSS, and Tasha Mellins-Cohen, Executive Director of COUNTER, to explore how usage metrics and digital preservation services intersect to support a sustainable open access (OA) ecosystem. The session offered a deep dive into the complementary roles of

Library Science Talk: Preserving Knowledge in a Shifting World: The Role of Libraries in Geopolitical Uncertainty In this session, Alicia and Gali explored the vital role libraries play as guardians of knowledge, culture, and history—especially in times of geopolitical instability. As wars, political upheaval, and natural disasters increasingly threaten library collections, our presentation focused on

Many people ask about the difference between using a repository or platform with backup and preserving content in an archive like CLOCKSS. While repositories and backups are essential for day-to-day access and recovery in case of technical issues, they don’t guarantee long-term preservation. CLOCKSS, on the other hand, is a trusted dark archive designed specifically

Since the recent cyber-attack on the British Library, many publishers have reached out with questions about the security of their content. While we cannot disclose every detail of our security protocols, we want to assure you that we are dedicated to the long-term preservation and security of all content entrusted to us. Here is an