ALCTS supports
Contact: Charles Wilt
ALCTS
312-280-5030
For Immediate Release
May 19, 2006
ALCTS supports "Urgent Action" statement to preserve scholarly electronic journals
CHICAGO - The Association for Library Collections & Technical Services (ALCTS) Board of Directors voted to endorse the statement "Urgent Action Needed to Preserve Scholarly Electronic Journals" (
www.diglib.org/pubs/waters051015.htm). The vote joins ALCTS with the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) and other library organizations working to preserve the journals.
In a letter of support to the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) and ACRL, ALCTS President Rosann Bazirjian wrote, "ALCTS understands that electronic resources present significant concerns regarding the preservation of materials and the long-term access to information. As a result, new models of preservation need to be developed. Researchers and scholars need to know that the information they are using today will be available for consultation tomorrow. If libraries do not find ways of preserving our electronic resources, we face an uncertain future. ALCTS would like to encourage all libraries and academic partners to take action now to preserve our precious electronic journal collections."
ALCTS is collaborating with Karla Hahn, director of the ARL Office of Scholarly Communication, and ARL to hold an ALCTS Forum at the American Library Association (ALA) Annual Conference in New Orleans on digital preservation issues on Monday, June 26, beginning at 8 a.m. in the Morial Convention Center, Room 353/355. The forum focus is on the Mellon Foundation call to action, current digital preservation options and how institutions need to start thinking about the future and the preservation of our electronic resources.
ALCTS is a division of the American Library Association (ALA), representing library professionals and support staff in all types of libraries in the areas of acquisitions, collection management, cataloging, preservation, and serials. ALCTS develops programs, products and services to meet the unique needs of technical services library staff.
