Company launches long-term preservation initiative with book content
(12 February 2018, Ann Arbor, MI) ProQuest has launched a new initiative for the long-term archival storage of its digital content, creating a “dark archive” that protects the investments of its library customers. The ProQuest® SAFE™ (Secure Archives ForEver) service will ensure preservation and access to content purchased by customers.
The SAFE service will launch using Amazon Glacier, the long-term backup and data-archiving resource from Amazon Web Services, chosen for its ability to ingest and protect ProQuest’s 600 terabytes of data. ProQuest will complete the first phase of the SAFE implementation by populating the dark archive with ebook content in 2018 and will support ongoing deposits.
The SAFE service is designed to grow to protect ProQuest’s six centuries of books, newspapers, magazines, government documents, video and audio content – the world’s largest academic archive.
“Long-term preservation of original source material is critical to our customers,” said Rich Belanger, senior vice president and general manager, ProQuest Books. “As part of our commitment to them, ProQuest created a program with multiple layers of safety and security so they can feel absolutely confident about the permanent availability and preservation of their content.”
The SAFE service covers all eligible past and future customer content purchases. If back-up access is needed, customers will have the option to retrieve their content from the SAFE service using a unique SAFE identifier. The first comprehensive annual reports on content coverage will be provided in 2018.
SAFE is the latest innovation in ProQuest’s history of preserving the world’s scholarship. In 1938, founder Eugene Power used a hand-built microfilm camera to preserve the contents of the British Library, ensuring its survival despite the ravages of World War II. Since then, the company has curated content essential to research and learning, simplified the workflows that surround its use, and connected this content with scholarly communities around the world.
The announcement in full is here.
