The June 19 Economist profiles LOCKSS ("Lots Of Copies Keeps Stuff Safe") in an anonymous story, Storing E-Text for Centuries (accessible only to subscribers). Excerpt: "Despite its complexities, LOCKSS, which is supported by the National Science Foundation, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Sun Microsystems and others, has shown that it works. A prototype version was installed at some 80 libraries worldwide to test the concept under real conditions. Lots of teething problems remain. But the biggest challenges may be economic rather than technical. Some publishers, in particular the more commercial ones, are none too keen on having their content cached elsewhere, although most of their concerns have been dealt with....More importantly, starting in 2004, the project will need to stand on its own financial feet. And that can only mean one thing: libraries and perhaps publishers, too, will have to make a contribution. Ms Reich is currently putting together an organisation, which will be called LOCKSS Alliance, whose mission will be, among other things, to maintain the software, and ensure that there are a sufficient number of caches."
Posted by
Peter Suber at 6/23/2003 10:37:00 AM.
The open access movement:
Putting peer-reviewed scientific and scholarly literature
on the internet. Making it available free of charge and
free of most copyright and licensing restrictions.
Removing the barriers to serious research.
