Global LOCKSS Network (GLN)

This page has been replaced by a new version.

Please visit Global LOCKSS Network for up-to-date information about the GLN.

Local content custody provides the best assurance of long-term access.

The Global LOCKSS Network is the original and most populous LOCKSS network, providing distributed preservation and local post-cancellation and perpetual access for subscription electronic journals and books, as well as a mechanism for building local collections of web-based scholarly open access publications.

How it works

The network provides preservation. LOCKSS systems at many individual institutions connected to the Global LOCKSS Network independently collect and cache web-based subscription and open access electronic resources. Over time, systems in the network discover other nodes hosting the same content and then regularly confer to assure integrity and completeness. If one system’s copy of content has been compromised, it is directed to retrieve a new copy from the publisher. If content from the publisher is unavailable, and the node has previously proven to the network that it was in possession of the intact content, it may retrieve a repair copy from a peer.

Each local node in the network provides access to its preserved electronic resources for that institution’s community. Access may be configured in a number of ways, sustaining seamless availability of electronic resources not just in case of cancellation, but also outages (temporary or persistent) of the publisher’s web platform.

Service and support

The LOCKSS Program operates the Global LOCKSS Network on behalf of the LOCKSS Alliance, providing content processing, infrastructure and content hosting, technical support, and training.

Before content can be preserved in the Global LOCKSS Network, it must be processed. To this end, the LOCKSS Program maintains a library of LOCKSS software plugins that facilitate logical preservation comparison of institutionally-personalized web content across the network and extract metadata for preservation subscription management, integration with access and discovery systems, and reporting to electronic resource preservation registries. Processed content is released on a regular basis, at which point it is automatically ingested, preserved, and made available according to each LOCKSS system’s configured subscriptions.

The LOCKSS Program hosts a property server for the network, which simplifies the configuration of participating nodes. We also redundantly host a bank of web content stored throughout the network over time. This helps ensure quorum for ongoing integrity checks and make them more efficient, regardless of what content individual institutions choose to preserve.

We provide technical support and training to help bring your LOCKSS system online, configure it appropriately for your IT environment, manage preserved and preservable content, and enable access.

Publishers and titles

The LOCKSS Program regularly processes content for libraries to add to their digital collections. The following reports enumerate the content that has been released for preservation. Please note that not all released content may be available to new participants.

Electronic journals:

• Comma-separated value UTF-8 (Keepers Registry format)
• Tab-separated UTF-8 (KBART format)

Electronic books:

• Comma-separated value UTF-8 (Keepers Registry format)
• Tab-separated UTF-8 (KBART format)

As long as the LOCKSS system is maintained, its preserved content remains accessible. Access to preserved collections is not dependent upon payment to the LOCKSS Program.

Participation fees

Participation fees for the Global LOCKSS Network sustain and entitle access to the services and support described above. A portion of these funds support ongoing development of the LOCKSS software, for the benefit of all LOCKSS users. Global LOCKSS Network participants also become members of the LOCKSS Alliance and gain the benefits thereof.

Participation fee tiers for institutions based in the United States are based on the Carnegie Classification. International institutions are also welcome to join. Institutions based in the United Kingdom can participate in the Global LOCKSS Network through the UK LOCKSS Alliance. Pricing information is available through Jisc. Please contact us if your institution is outside the United States or United Kingdom.

The current fees for institutions in the United States for September 2019 through August 2020 are listed below. Please note that fees typically increase by 2% each year, to defray inflation.

How to join

Please contact us to inquire about participating in the Global LOCKSS Network.

Publishers looking to preserve their content in the Global LOCKSS Network are advised to first consult our publisher guidance.