WEST Cycles 14 & 15 Archiving Commitments Are Complete!
The WEST project team is pleased to announce that all archiving commitments for Cycles 14 & 15 have been submitted and analyzed! This analysis included several important and impactful updates to WEST’s collections model and archiving priorities:
- Expanded Archive Holder Participation. The Cycles 14 & 15 proposals to Archive Holders differ from the previous cycles in that WEST proposed almost twice as many journal families overall. Even with this change in volume, Archive Holders committed to hold an average of 65% of titles proposed! This is a significant expansion on Cycle 12 & 13, when Archive Holders committed to hold an average of 41% of titles proposed.
- Continuation of Title Category 2 (‘High-risk; No Builder’) proposals to Archive Holders.
To support the priority to identify and archive scarcely held titles, WEST analyzed members’ holdings to identify higher-risk titles (titles with little to no electronic availability) that have historically been overlooked for archiving because they are not held by any of the Archive Builders. Archive Holders who commit to journals in this category are not required to physically validate the journal run or transfer the content to storage. 69% of titles proposed in this category were committed for archiving! -
Change in number of Archive Builders.
During Cycles 12 & 13, three WEST Archive Builders accomplished the enormous task of archiving all their eligible higher-risk titles at the end of this summer – an amazing achievement and contribution to the collective print collection! It is with deep gratitude that we congratulate Arizona State University, University of Kansas, and University of Denver, and thank them for their years of work as active Archive Builders. We continue in Cycles 14 & 15 with the University of California Northern and Southern Regional Library Facilities and University of Missouri as active Builders. These three Archive Builders committed to archiving over 1,400 Journal Families cumulatively!
WEST chose not to recruit additional Builders for Cycles 14 & 15, but with new members joining the Trust network we anticipate future opportunities to onboard additional members as Builders.
Of the 47 members receiving archiving proposals, 31 (66%) committed to retain some or all of the journals proposed to them, including 3 members that previously participated as Non-Archive Holders. By committing to retain these titles, members are filling gaps in the regional and national shared print safety net, and are ensuring that these materials remain available for current and future scholars.
Additionally, Arizona State University continues the work of revisiting 711 of their legacy medium and high risk level (formerly Silver and Gold) journal families to extend backfiles and fill gaps. WEST estimates that there are approximately 10,340 volumes that have been published for these journal families that were not originally included in the WEST archives. ASU will conclude their work in 2025 and the WEST Project Team will work with ASU to write a report, including successes and lessons learned, to shape WEST’s strategic approaches for gap filling.
What’s next?
Now that commitments have been made, Archive Holders can begin updating their records for disclosure. Archive Builders will start preparing for the physical validation activities they undertake while archiving medium and high risk level titles.
As a reminder, the Builders will be issuing ‘calls for holdings’ to WEST members to help fill in gaps and complete their medium and high risk level backfiles; all WEST members are highly encouraged to participate in this activity and contribute volumes where possible. This is a great opportunity to make an impact with your local deselection projects – it transforms deaccessioning into strategic reorganization of collections. These items are still accessible, but held by a partner.
To ensure Builders are contacting the correct person at your institution, all Campus Admin users in AGUA are highly encouraged to review your institution’s contacts in AGUA and make any necessary updates. Additionally, WEST members are encouraged to update the Calls for Holdings Tracking Spreadsheet, where WEST members can indicate if they are currently open and able to respond to calls for holdings, or share if they are engaged in a deselection project and seeking to contribute volumes to aid in that deselection. Conversely, if a member is unable to respond to calls for holdings at this time, then putting that information in this spreadsheet can save everyone time.
If you have any questions about your user roles or updating your institution’s contacts, please email Nika Burns Teshin (nika.worth@ucop.edu).
Many thanks to all WEST members for their hard work and dedication expanding the shared print trust network!