Phase 1: Retention commitments are complete!
HathiTrust has received signed MOUs from all 49 Retention Libraries! These libraries have committed to retain more than 16 million print volumes for 25 years (through 2042) and to lend them to other HathiTrust member libraries.
Phase 1 Retention Libraries should add information about their retention commitments to their local catalogs to prevent deselection of volumes the library has committed to retain. The Operating Policies and Guidelines document provides details of the Disclosure policy and the specific metadata to be added to the local records.
We are continuing to monitor development of OCLC’s Shared Print Registration Service, which will allow Retention Libraries to disclose their HathiTrust retention commitments in WorldCat using a simple file upload process. The latest word from OCLC is that this capability should be released in May. Once the new service is available, we will provide further information and documentation.
HathiTrust is working on several capabilities that will make use of or maintain the retention commitment data that we have collected in the HathiTrust Shared Print Registry. We expect to have some of these capabilities available in early summer, and will announce them and provide instructions at that time.
For all HathiTrust libraries:
Request a retention comparison report, to show which of the library’s print monograph holdings have been committed for retention by other libraries under the Shared Print Program. Using this report, the library can make local decisions about shelving those volumes knowing that copies will be retained by other HathiTrust libraries.
For Retention Libraries:
Report volumes committed in error, outside the scope of the HathiTrust Shared Print Program (e.g. volumes in special collections) or duplicate commitments within that library
Report volumes lost or damaged, which will support a future capability to seek replacement volumes or commitments from other HathiTrust libraries
Provide or update additional descriptive information such as shelving location or record ID changes
To provide for evolution of the Shared Print Program over time, the Board of Governors approved a formal process to consider changes to the Operating Policies and Guidelines. The new process to change Shared Print policies lays out the steps for libraries to propose a policy change for subsequent review by the Shared Print Advisory Committee, PSC, and, when necessary, the Board of Governors.
Phase 2: Next round of retention commitments
We are now ready to begin the next phase of the Shared Print Program with a goal to secure retention commitments to cover the estimated 2.2 million HathiTrust digital monographs that received no commitments in Phase 1. In May, we will issue a “call for participation” to recruit HathiTrust member libraries that may be willing to retain print volumes in the next round. Both Phase 1 Retention Libraries and members that did not participate previously are eligible to participate in this next phase. New Retention Libraries will need to execute the Shared Print Agreement next fall as part of confirming their retention commitments.
HathiTrust is in contract negotiations with a provider to help us analyze and prioritize print retentions for Phase 2. Our plans are to begin work on the analysis project by early June. A small project team will use data visualization and modeling tools to explore various options (such as preferred number of copies), in order to propose holdings for retention at participating libraries by fall 2018. The participating libraries will have an opportunity to review and make final decisions about which holdings to retain (similar to our process in Phase 1).
For any questions about the HathiTrust Shared Print Program, please contact:
Lizanne Payne
Shared Print Program Officer