Celebrating WEST Archive Builders – What they do, who they are, what you can do!
The WEST program is unique in its use of a risk model that determines the level of effort invested in archiving the content. The majority of WEST Archivers agree to retain proposed titles and mark that commitment in the records’ metadata, which is then disclosed in program and public registries. This is significant work in itself, but there is also a small number of WEST members who further commit to engage in physical validation of higher-risk materials and the storage of those materials in climate-controlled, secure facilities. These members are known as Archive Builders.
Please read on to learn:
- what WEST Archive Builders do to create highly dependable print archives; and
- what other WEST members can do to support Archive Builders in this critical work.
What’s WEST’s risk model?
Risk in WEST is defined by the degree of electronic availability.
The lowest risk journals are those that we can find in trusted digital repositories including:
- Portico
- CLOCKSS
- JSTOR
- HathiTrust Digital Library
WEST does not require physical validation of low risk journals. They can be archived and retained wherever they happen to be (open stacks, etc.). As such, low risk journals are a very accessible way for a wide range of WEST libraries to participate. Because the journals are preserved in a trusted digital repository our network can accept the risk that the print material might be incomplete or not on the shelf.
Medium risk journals have at least some full text availability in commercial databases.
High risk journals appear to only be available in print or with electronic abstracting and indexing.
In WEST, we take extra measures to ensure the viability of medium and high risk journals because there is a higher risk of total loss of the content. That’s where the WEST Archive Builders come in.
Who are the Archive Builders?
The Archive Builders are WEST members who have high density storage facilities that meet WEST environmental standards for higher risk journals and who are able to devote staff and institutional capacity to undertake a more intensive standard of archiving, including meticulous physical validation and proactive outreach to fill gaps in their local journal runs.
Arizona State University and University of Kansas
Some Archive Builders have filled this role since WEST’s earliest days, including Arizona State University and University of Kansas. These two libraries completed the enormous task of archiving all their eligible titles at the end of this summer – an amazing achievement and contribution to the collective print collection.
Staff at these institutions have developed deep expertise over the years in serial holdings, as well as in the standards for validating and disclosing serial shared print collections. The expert staff who make the work possible for WEST also contribute their expertise in national task forces and working groups.
Arizona State University is also breaking new ground on behalf of WEST by piloting focused gap-filling work to complete the vast collection they have archived over the past 10+ years. WEST expects to leverage the outcomes of the pilot to hone gap-filling strategies for our program and share what we learn with our peer programs.
University of California Northern & Southern Regional Library Facilities
The University of California Libraries have been fortunate to have two shared storage facilities since the 1980s. Undergirded by the association with all 10 UC campuses, the UC Regional Library Facilities (RLFs) have served as Archive Builders from the start of WEST and continue to have the largest potential for ongoing medium and high risk archiving.
As part of WEST’s analysis methodology, the collections of UC campuses in the southern and northern regions of California are associated with their respective Regional Library Facility. This means that the pool of eligible medium and high risk titles not only include the large collections that already exist at the RLFs, but also the on-campus collections of associated UC campuses.
University of Denver and University of Missouri
In 2020, WEST onboarded two long-standing members as new Archive Builders: University of Denver and University of Missouri. The decision to recruit new Archive Builders emerged from WEST’s 2019 Program Assessment and subsequent collections analysis that surfaced findings demonstrating collections and capacity gains to be had by selectively expanding the roster of Archive Builders.
Both University of Denver and University of Missouri were assessed to have significant percentages of higher risk titles in their collections. University of Denver’s overall collection is smaller than most of the Archive Builders, but the percentage of high risk titles held by DU and no other Builder made it particularly valuable that DU was willing to serve in this capacity for what was expected to be a shorter term.
At the end of this summer University of Denver wrapped up their Builder work on eligible local higher risk titles and will be transitioning back into the role of Archive Holder in the coming year. University Missouri continues in its crucial role as a new Builder.
Stanford University and Rice University
Around the same time that WEST onboarded University of Denver and University of Missouri as new Archive Builders, two of WEST’s long-standing Builders shifted out of the role. Stanford University and Rice University served as Archive Builders for almost a decade – since the earliest days of WEST. In 2020, both Stanford University and Rice University decided to shift out of their roles as Archive Builders, while continuing to consider new proposals of low-risk titles. At the end of their tenure as Archive Builders, Stanford University and Rice University had respectively archived 3,474 and 1,213 medium and high risk titles.
Builders who shift out of the active role, continue to maintain the vast physically validated collections they worked to create on behalf of WEST and also continue in certain aspects of the role – such as accepting donations of volumes to fill gaps and re-validating medium or higher risk content that is physically loaned (which is quite rare).
University of Oregon
It is generally less known in WEST that University of Oregon also archived titles as a Builder in WEST’s earliest cycles. University of Oregon has since withdrawn from the WEST network, but continues to be a trusted community partner preserving and providing access to 136 medium and high risk titles on behalf of WEST through WEST’s preservation horizon.
What can WEST member libraries do to contribute to Archive Building?
Answer calls for holdings!
Part of the work that Archive Builders do is to proactively seek out and request volumes that they do not locally own in order to complete the archives. If you receive such a request from one of the Archive Builders, please respond! Even if you are not in a position to contribute the content at the time, letting the Builders know as soon as possible goes a long way to help the process keep moving. Check out the WEST Calls for Holdings FAQ for more details.
Offer volumes to Archive Builders to fill gaps!
If your library is reviewing serials and journals locally, don’t forget to run a comparison report in AGUA to see if you can make offers to complete WEST archives held at other institutions – particularly with the Archive Builders. See WEST’s deselection and gap-filling resources for tool demos and tips.
Let the Builders know that you’d like to receive calls (or that you don’t)!
The Builders and WEST Project Team collaborated to create a tracking sheet that captures information about WEST members’ readiness to contribute through calls for holdings. If your library is starting a large journal and serial deselection project, flag that in the spreadsheet and the Builders may prioritize your holdings for requests. Similarly, if your institution is just not in a position to contribute volumes at this time, you can note that in the spreadsheet and this saves the Builders and your institution time!