Roles and Responsibilities of an Archive Holder

WEST is excited to invite more members to act as Archive Holders this cycle. WEST believes strongly in the importance of the distributed model for serials print archiving. WEST currently has 20 Archive Holders and will invite 40 more members to serve as Holders for Bronze titles this year. This is an excellent opportunity for members to participate more in the Trust!

For a full description of an Archive Holder’s role and responsibilities, please read the WEST Archive Holder/Builder Roles & Responsibilities document.

In general, a WEST Archive Holder is a member that retains the print backfile for a journal family for an agreed upon preservation horizon (i.e. 25 years). For Bronze archives, Archive Holder responsibilities include disclosing archived holdings according to the WEST Disclosure Policy, providing access to backfiles according to the WEST Access Guidelines, and responding to WEST member inquiries about holdings. Archive Holders are not required to validate Bronze backfiles but are encouraged to receive offers to fill gaps. Bronze archives can be held in place in a library or put into storage. WEST generally recommends archiving in place for Bronze to ensure that precious storage facility space in the region is used for higher risk titles.

An invitation will be sent out shortly to proposed new Archive Holders to confirm interest in reviewing title lists and possible participation as an Archive Holder.