The Archives of Psychiatry and Mental Health (APMH) is committed to ensuring the long-term preservation, discoverability, and accessibility of all published scholarly content. Preservation of digital research outputs is a cornerstone of responsible academic publishing, safeguarding the integrity of the scientific record, supporting reproducibility, and guaranteeing that future researchers, clinicians, policymakers, and the public can access mental health scholarship without interruption.

This modernized, comprehensive Preservation and Archiving Policy expands upon the foundational guidelines from the predecessor APMH site and incorporates best practices recommended by COPE, DOAJ, Crossref, CLOCKSS, Portico, and international open-access preservation frameworks.

Purpose of the Preservation Policy

The goals of the APMH preservation strategy include:

Ensuring uninterrupted long-term access to published content
Safeguarding against data loss, corruption, or technological obsolescence
Supporting permanent DOI linking through Crossref
Providing durable repository compatibility (OAI-PMH, OpenAIRE, etc.)
Guaranteeing archiving redundancy across multiple platforms
Enabling continued citation, discovery, and metadata harvesting

Digital preservation protects the scholarly record throughout the journal’s lifetime and beyond, ensuring that research remains available even in the event of platform transitions, publisher changes, or unforeseen disruptions.

APMH Digital Preservation Strategies

APMH employs a multi-layered, redundant preservation architecture to ensure maximum security and continuity. These strategies include:

1. Distributed Server Backups

APMH maintains:

Daily backups of all journal files
Full database backups at regular intervals
Encrypted off-site archival storage
Redundant mirror servers across multiple geographic locations

This ensures resilience against server failures, natural disasters, cyberattacks, or data loss events.

2. Participation in Archiving Networks*

APMH maintains compatibility for participation in global digital preservation systems such as:

CLOCKSS (Controlled Lots of Copies Keep Stuff Safe)
LOCKSS (Lots of Copies Keep Stuff Safe)
Portico
PKP Preservation Network (PN)

*Participation is based on evolving publisher arrangements, system integrations, and platform eligibility.

These networks ensure that published content is preserved in multiple independent locations worldwide.

3. DOI Registration and Crossref Archiving

Every published article receives a persistent DOI through Crossref. DOI metadata includes:

Canonical citation details
Version of record (VoR) linking
Licensing and copyright information
Reference linking and citation crosslinking

DOIs ensure permanent, stable access to articles regardless of hosting changes.

4. Open Access Repository Integration

APMH provides structured metadata for harvesting by:

Google Scholar
OpenAIRE
Semantic Scholar
Base Search
WorldCat

This ensures discoverability and long-term accessibility even if the primary website becomes unavailable.

5. Publisher-Level Archiving

The journal’s publishing infrastructure ensures:

Full preservation of HTML, PDF, XML, and supplementary files
Scheduled preservation audits
Cross-platform compatibility
Content version tracking and maintenance

All published content remains available through multiple fallback mirrors maintained by the publisher.

Preservation of Supplementary Materials

In addition to article files, APMH preserves:

High-resolution images
Audio files
Video materials
Datasets*
Appendices and extended materials

*Authors are encouraged to deposit large datasets in specialized repositories such as Zenodo, Figshare, or OSF, which support DOI assignments and long-term storage.

Metadata Preservation

Metadata is essential for discoverability and long-term recordkeeping. APMH preserves:

Dublin Core metadata
Crossref XML metadata
OpenAIRE-compatible metadata
OAI-PMH–harvestable metadata sets
Citation metadata (authors, affiliations, ORCID, etc.)

This metadata is stored in multiple redundant databases and exported to indexing services.

Handling Journal Discontinuation or Transfer

In the event of:

Publisher restructuring
Platform migration
Journal acquisition
Discontinuation of publication

APMH guarantees:

Continued hosting of published content
Preservation through third-party archiving networks
DOI functionality via Crossref
Migration of content to new platforms if required

Authors retain perpetual rights to distribute published versions under the journal’s Creative Commons license.

Preservation During Emergencies

APMH has protocols for maintaining site functionality during:

Cybersecurity breaches
Natural disasters
Server failures
Extended downtime or outages

Multiple failover systems ensure uninterrupted access to published material.

Content Removal or Takedown Policy

Articles are preserved permanently except in rare circumstances, such as:

Court orders
Serious copyright violations
Ethically mandated retractions
Privacy or confidentiality concerns

In such cases:

The article may be replaced with a retraction note
Metadata and DOIs remain active
A transparent record of changes is maintained

APMH never removes content silently.

Practical Example of Preservation Workflow

Scenario: An early-volume article published five years ago becomes temporarily inaccessible due to a hosting server failure. APMH's redundant mirror server automatically loads the content. Meanwhile, the preservation network retains a copy, enabling continuity regardless of local disruptions. Readers continue accessing the article without interruption.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q: Will my article always be accessible even if the URL changes?: Yes. DOIs ensure permanent linking regardless of platform updates.
Q: Does APMH preserve supplementary datasets?: Yes, but large datasets are recommended for specialized data repositories.
Q: What happens if the journal shuts down?: Content remains preserved via independent archiving networks such as CLOCKSS/LOCKSS.
Q: Are older issues periodically reviewed?: Yes. Annual preservation audits ensure file integrity and metadata accuracy.
Q: Can authors request takedown of outdated articles?: No. Only legally or ethically justified removals are processed.

Conclusion

The Preservation and Archiving Policy at APMH ensures that every published work—past, present, and future—remains permanently available, discoverable, and citable. Through a robust multi-layer preservation strategy, participation in global archiving infrastructures, and unwavering commitment to open-access continuity, the journal upholds its responsibility to safeguard the scientific record for generations to come.