Digital Archiving & Preservation

Digital Archiving & Preservation Policy

Iraqi Journal for Applied Science (IJAS)

The Iraqi Journal for Applied Science (IJAS) is committed to ensuring the long-term preservation, accessibility, authenticity, and integrity of its published scholarly content. The journal recognizes that permanent access to the scholarly record is a fundamental responsibility of academic publishing and therefore implements appropriate digital preservation strategies to safeguard published articles against technological obsolescence, accidental loss, and system failures.

The journal continuously develops and maintains its preservation infrastructure to ensure that published research remains permanently accessible to the international scholarly community.

Commitment to Long-Term Preservation

IJAS maintains a comprehensive digital preservation strategy designed to ensure the continued availability and integrity of all published content.

The journal is committed to:

  • Preserving the published Version of Record.
  • Maintaining the authenticity and integrity of scholarly content.
  • Protecting published articles from data loss.
  • Ensuring permanent public accessibility.
  • Supporting long-term scholarly communication.

Preservation Infrastructure

IJAS is published using the Open Journal Systems (OJS) platform developed by the Public Knowledge Project (PKP), which provides support for internationally recognized preservation and interoperability standards.

The journal employs multiple preservation mechanisms to minimize the risk of data loss and ensure long-term accessibility.

PKP Preservation Network (PKP PN)

Where applicable, IJAS participates in the PKP Preservation Network (PKP PN), a distributed digital preservation service developed by the Public Knowledge Project (PKP).

The PKP Preservation Network provides:

  • Distributed preservation of published journal content.
  • Long-term digital archiving.
  • Redundant secure storage.
  • Protection against accidental data loss.
  • Continued public accessibility of preserved content.

Participation in PKP PN strengthens the long-term sustainability and reliability of the journal's scholarly record.

Institutional Preservation

Published journal content may also be preserved through the institutional digital infrastructure of the University of Diyala.

Institutional preservation contributes to:

  • Additional backup and redundancy.
  • Institutional stewardship of published research.
  • Long-term preservation of scholarly outputs.
  • Enhanced reliability and accessibility.

Metadata Preservation

IJAS is committed to preserving not only published articles but also the associated scholarly metadata.

Preserved metadata may include:

  • Article titles.
  • Author information.
  • Abstracts.
  • Keywords.
  • Bibliographic information.
  • Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs).
  • Citation metadata.
  • Publication history.

Metadata preservation supports discoverability, indexing, citation tracking, and interoperability among scholarly information systems.

DOI Persistence

Each published article receives a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) registered through Crossref.

The journal is committed to maintaining DOI functionality and ensuring that DOI links continue to resolve to the published Version of Record whenever reasonably possible.

OJS Preservation Features

The Open Journal Systems (OJS) platform provides additional preservation capabilities, including:

  • Structured archival storage.
  • Metadata export.
  • Persistent article management.
  • Backup support.
  • Interoperability with preservation services.
  • Standards-based preservation workflows.

These features contribute to the long-term stability and accessibility of journal content.

Permanent Access

IJAS is committed to maintaining permanent public access to all published articles.

In the event of technical interruption, platform migration, or cessation of journal publication, every reasonable effort will be made to ensure continued access to archived content through recognized preservation systems and institutional repositories, where applicable.

Preservation of the Scholarly Record

The journal is dedicated to preserving the complete scholarly record, including:

  • Published articles.
  • Supplementary materials.
  • Figures and tables.
  • Metadata records.
  • DOI information.
  • Publication history.
  • Corrections and retractions, where applicable.

Preservation activities are conducted in accordance with internationally recognized standards for scholarly publishing and digital preservation.

Compliance with International Best Practices

IJAS follows internationally recognized principles and best practices for digital preservation and scholarly communication.

The journal continually evaluates and improves its preservation infrastructure to support:

  • Long-term accessibility.
  • Research integrity.
  • Persistent availability.
  • Sustainable scholarly publishing.
  • Reliable academic communication.

Policy Review

This policy is reviewed periodically by the Editorial Board to ensure continued compliance with evolving international standards, technological developments, and best practices in digital preservation.