1) Preservation Objectives

APPS safeguards the scholarly record by preserving article content (HTML/PDF, figures, tables), metadata (authors, ORCID iDs, titles, abstracts, keywords, references), and contextual materials (editorial notes, corrections, retractions). The preservation program supports:

• Continuity: Ensuring article availability despite platform changes, server failures, or organizational transitions.
• Integrity: Maintaining unaltered versions of record; documenting changes via corrections, retractions, and expressions of concern aligned with COPE practices referenced elsewhere on the site.
• Discoverability: Exposing machine-readable metadata for indexing and harvesting to maximize reach and reuse, consistent with APPS indexing and policy pages.
• Openness: Leveraging open access licensing (CC BY 4.0) to permit lawful redistribution and preservation copying where appropriate.

2) Scope: What APPS Preserves

The preservation scope covers the full life cycle of a published article and its essential metadata. Article packages typically comprise:

• Version of Record (VoR): Final published PDF/HTML, including pagination/article identifiers, figures/tables, supplementary material links, and licensing statements.
• Metadata: Article title, authors/affiliations, correspondence email, abstract, keywords, references, DOI (where assigned), submission/acceptance dates, and license tags.
• Policy artifacts: Linked notices for corrections, retractions, or withdrawals, as applicable (guided by the journal’s published policies).

For legacy content where some metadata fields are incomplete, APPS strives to enhance the record during routine maintenance without altering the scientific meaning of the article.

3) Preservation Methods and Channels

APPS applies a layered strategy to minimize single points of failure and to improve resilience. Methods reflect the “Digital Archiving Policy” and the platform’s capabilities:

• Platform copies: Canonical article files (HTML/PDF/images) are hosted on pharmacyscijournal.com with routine server backups.
• Machine-readable exposure for harvesters: Article and issue pages are exposed for indexing and discovery (e.g., Google Scholar and other library discovery systems listed on APPS’ indexing page). :contentReference[oaicite:0]{index=0}
• OAI-PMH metadata: The journal platform provides an OAI-PMH interface to enable harvesting of core bibliographic records in standard schemas (Dublin Core / PKP DC), supporting repository interoperability and long-term findability. (Aligned with the site’s policy/navigation structure.) 
• Issue-level archives: Back content is organized by year/volume/issue and discoverable via the Archives section of the site.

Note: Some third-party preservation networks (e.g., CLOCKSS/LOCKSS, PKP PN, Portico) require formal participation statements or manifests. APPS’ current Digital Archiving Policy page is the authoritative reference for how archiving is handled on pharmacyscijournal.com. Where the site lists specific networks or registries in the future, those will be reflected here and in the article webpages. 

4) Roles and Responsibilities

Preservation is a shared responsibility across the journal, publisher, and broader scholarly ecosystem:

• Publisher/Journal Office: Maintain secure hosting, backups, and accurate policy pages; ensure steady operation of discovery endpoints and archives.
• Editors: Uphold the integrity of the record through timely corrections and retractions where warranted; promote thorough metadata entry during production.
• Authors: Provide complete metadata (ORCID, funding statements), deposit accepted/published versions in institutional or subject repositories consistent with journal policy; cite DOIs where available.
• Readers and Libraries: May mirror or cite the Version of Record and maintain institutional repository copies where institutional mandates apply, respecting CC BY 4.0 licensing.

5) File Formats, Versioning, and Fixity

To promote long-term accessibility, APPS prioritizes widely adopted, open or de-facto standard formats:

• PDF/A-like serializations (where feasible): Preservation-friendly PDFs for the VoR.
• HTML with embedded or linked assets: Accessible markup for web reading, with alt text on figures where available.
• Image formats: PNG/JPEG/SVG for figures and schematics.

Versioning is managed through article identifiers, publication dates, and update notices. For post-publication changes, APPS links correction/retraction notes from the article page to preserve a transparent chain of custody. Routine server-side integrity checks and backups are used to protect against accidental loss.

6) Metadata Quality, Discoverability, and Interoperability

High-quality metadata increases the likelihood that articles remain findable and citable over time. Consistent with APPS’ policy pages:

• Bibliographic completeness: Include descriptive fields (title, authors, affiliations, abstract, keywords), structural fields (volume, issue, article number), and administrative fields (license, dates).
• Persistent identifiers: Where DOIs are registered for articles, always display and maintain functional DOI links. Include ORCID iDs in author metadata when supplied.
• OAI-PMH exposure: Make core fields harvestable in Dublin Core; maintain stable setSpecs for collections.
• Indexing alignment: Ensure article pages satisfy discoverability criteria for services listed on the APPS indexing page (e.g., crawlers can access abstract text, titles are unique per page).

7) Backups, Continuity, and Disaster Recovery

The publisher maintains regular server backups and operational monitoring to restore service in case of an outage or data loss. If a prolonged service interruption occurs, the journal will prioritize restoration of the version of record and its metadata. The journal will communicate with authors and readers via the website and email to provide status updates and access alternatives.

As the site’s own Digital Archiving Policy evolves, this page will track changes to backup schedules, media types, and recovery objectives in line with industry norms for small and mid-size scholarly publishers. 

8) Self-Archiving and Repository Copies

APPS encourages authors to deposit accepted and/or published versions in institutional, subject, or funder repositories, consistent with the journal’s Open Access and Repository policies. Deposited copies should include a full citation and a link to the article’s canonical page on the journal site, and retain any credit lines for third-party content where applicable. 

• Institutional repositories (university libraries) and disciplinary repositories (e.g., Europe PMC/PubMed Central where eligible).
• Generalist repositories (e.g., Zenodo, Figshare) for data and supplementary files, with licensing disclosed by authors.
• Personal and departmental webpages for dissemination, subject to proper attribution and licensing display.

9) Policy Governance, Updates, and Transparency

The publisher and editorial office periodically review this Preservation and Archiving Policy for accuracy against the live Digital Archiving Policy page and related sections. Significant updates will be timestamped and summarized at the bottom of this page, with cross-links to related policy pages (Open Access, Licensing, Withdrawal, Retraction/Correction).

Where the site lists specific archiving partnerships or network memberships (e.g., with community preservation networks), those details will be explicitly named on the Digital Archiving Policy page and reflected here to maintain a single source of truth.

10) Accessibility as a Preservation Strategy

APPS treats web accessibility as part of long-term preservation. Accessible HTML (semantic headings, alt text for figures where provided, keyboard-accessible navigation) increases compatibility with future technologies and assistive tools. Production workflows aim to ensure that the Version of Record remains readable and navigable across devices and over time.

• Use of semantic HTML and descriptive figure captions improves machine indexing longevity.
• Consistent license and policy blocks on article pages simplify downstream preservation and rights audit.

11) Rights & Licensing Signals for Preservation

APPS uses clear licensing statements (CC BY 4.0) so that preservation services and repositories can determine permitted uses, including lawful caching and redistribution. Rights and license metadata should be machine-readable and displayed on article landing pages and PDFs, consistent with the journal’s Licensing Policy and Open Access Policy.

12) Contact and Support

Preservation-related questions may be directed to the editorial office:

• Email: info@hspioa.org
• Contact form: https://www.pharmacyscijournal.com/contact