OCUL is committed to the preservation of Ontario university library collections, both print and digital.
Digital Preservation
Three mandates guide OCUL’s approach to digital preservation:
- Materials must remain whole and integral
- Materials must remain authentic to the original text
- Materials must remain accessible for research use
Through Scholars Portal, OCUL ensures the responsible digital preservation of library collections.
Scholars Portal was Canada’s first certified Trustworthy Digital Repository. In February 2013, the Center for Research Libraries issued the certification, following an extensive audit that measured Scholars Portal’s compliance with established criteria for trusted digital repositories. Read the 2013 announcement (PDF).
Scholars Portal has made available all the policies and plans that describe its preservation mandate and workflows. Visit the Scholars Portal Trustworthy Digital Repository documentation library.
Print Preservation
Preservation of a last copy, regardless of format, is an important general principle for OCUL. This principle is exemplified through the Thunder Bay Last Copy Agreement.
Thunder Bay Last Copy Agreement
At the fall 2008 meeting of the OCUL Directors and later adopted in principle at the spring 2009 meeting, it was agreed upon to focus attention on the coordinated retention and collaborative storage of print journals by OCUL member libraries to address immediate short-term space needs. It was also agreed that a distributed model is desirable, making retention and collaborative storage shared responsibilities. Local decision-making and simple procedures are essential to ensure a successful outcome for the coordinated retention of printed journals by OCUL member libraries.
Over the longer term, OCUL will continue exploring opportunities for collaboration with other regional and national organizations.