CLOCKSS, a community-led collaboration of academic publishers and research libraries that work together to provide a sustainable online archive, is seeking feedback on a new draft international standard for the preservation of eBooks in EPUB format, known as EPUB/a (a for archive). This initiative, conducted on behalf of ISO and NISO, aims to ensure that EPUB files remain accessible and part of the global cultural and intellectual heritage. CLOCKSS invites accessibility and digital preservation experts, librarians, and publishers to review and provide comments on the draft, helping to refine and perfect the standard before its potential adoption as an ISO International Standard. Contributions and suggestions for the draft standard can be submitted via email to awise@clockss.org. Read more on their initiative here.
In a related development, CLOCKSS has been named a finalist in the “Teaching and Communication” category at the Digital Preservation Coalition Awards 2024. This recognition highlights CLOCKSS’s efforts to educate academic publishers about the critical importance of long-term digital preservation and actively involve them in preserving their scholarly content. According to CLOCKSS, 25% of academic journals are at risk, with academic books facing even greater threats. Read more on CLOCKSS’s nomination and work here.