Preservation and Archiving Policy

The Annals of Proteomics and Bioinformatics (APB) ensures permanent availability and accessibility of all published scholarly content. This Preservation and Archiving Policy defines the strategies, partners, and technologies used to safeguard the journal’s digital materials for current and future generations.

APB uses multiple trusted digital preservation services — including Portico, LOCKSS, and the PKP Preservation Network (PKP PN) — to guarantee perpetual access to all articles.

1. Purpose

The goal of digital preservation is to protect published research from technological failure, cyber threats, or loss of data integrity. APB’s preservation program ensures that each article remains discoverable, citable, and readable indefinitely.

2. Preservation Partners

APB collaborates with recognized third-party archiving organizations:

  • Portico: Provides a trusted long-term preservation archive with verified content checksums.
  • PKP Preservation Network (PKP PN): Automatically preserves OJS-based journals using LOCKSS technology.
  • LOCKSS and CLOCKSS: Distributed network maintaining multiple copies worldwide to ensure redundancy.
  • Internet Archive: Periodically crawls and indexes journal content for public recordkeeping.

3. Preservation Strategies

APB implements redundant, distributed, and format-sustainable preservation practices, including:

  • Bit-level preservation through regular checksum validation.
  • Geographically distributed backup across independent servers.
  • Periodic data migration to ensure compatibility with evolving file formats (e.g., PDF/A, XML-JATS).
  • Routine integrity audits performed semi-annually.
Preservation Frequency: Content synchronization and integrity verification occur at least twice per year.

4. Archiving Scope

The preservation plan covers the following materials:

  • Full-text articles (PDF, XML-JATS, and HTML versions).
  • Supplementary materials (figures, datasets, multimedia).
  • Editorial content, peer-review history (where applicable), and metadata records.
  • Website design, journal policies, and issue metadata.

5. Metadata and Persistent Identifiers

Each article is assigned a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) through CrossRef, ensuring persistent linking and long-term citation. Metadata follows Dublin Core and OAI-PMH protocols for interoperability and harvesting by global repositories.

6. Backup and Redundancy

APB’s internal servers maintain daily automated backups with geographically diverse storage nodes. In the event of a system failure or cyber incident, recovery can be initiated within 24 hours from mirror archives.

7. Version Control and Integrity

The journal uses checksum validation (SHA-256) to verify that no data corruption or unauthorized modification occurs. Updated or corrected versions of articles retain unique identifiers with full change logs preserved.

8. Data Preservation Workflow

Preservation Activity Frequency Responsible Entity
Server Backup Daily HSPIOA IT Team
Checksum Verification Monthly Digital Archivist
LOCKSS Synchronization Quarterly PKP PN Network
Full Integrity Audit Bi-annual External Preservation Partner

9. Disaster Recovery

A comprehensive disaster-recovery protocol ensures business continuity in case of natural disasters, cyberattacks, or server loss. Restoration priority is given to published content and article metadata to minimize access interruptions.

Emergency Recovery Time Objective (RTO): 24 hours; Recovery Point Objective (RPO): 12 hours.

10. Legal Deposit and Compliance

APB complies with digital deposit mandates and ensures copies of each issue are archived with recognized repositories such as Portico and PKP PN. Legal retention meets national and international archiving standards (ISO 14721 OAIS model).

11. Transparency and Access

All preservation partners and systems are publicly listed on the journal’s website. Readers and authors are assured uninterrupted access to the official version of record even if the journal ceases publication.

12. Policy Review

This Preservation and Archiving Policy is reviewed annually by the editorial board in collaboration with HSPIOA’s technical team to ensure compliance with the latest digital preservation standards and technologies.

13. Contact Information

For preservation inquiries or to verify archival records, contact:

© 2025 Annals of Proteomics and Bioinformatics (APB) · Heighten Sciences Publication Incorporation

Source Reference: Portico Preservation Policy, LOCKSS/CLOCKSS Standards, PKP PN Guidelines, and ISO 14721 OAIS Model.