NYU Libraries is pleased to announce the release of the updated Guidelines for Preservability in New Forms of Scholarship and a new Preservability Self-Assessment Tool, the culmination of a three-year project funded by a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. This initiative—undertaken in collaboration with the University of Michigan, the Stanford LOCKSS Program and Portico, among others—is designed to help publishers make informed design choices that support large-scale digital preservation without sacrificing functionality.
Building on a prior Mellon-funded project that identified key preservation challenges in digital publishing, this effort tested and refined 68 original Guidelines for Preserving New Forms of Scholarship by embedding preservation experts within publishing workflows. Led by David Millman, Associate Dean for Technology and Chief Information Officer, the team worked closely with publishers, platform developers, and scholars to assess risks, recommend improvements, and enhance preservation strategies. The result is a set of practical, actionable guidelines, now entitled Guidelines for Preservability in New Forms of Scholarship, and a self-assessment tool that will enable publishers, platform developers, and content creators to evaluate and improve the long-term viability of their digital works.
“As digital scholarship evolves, ensuring long-term access to complex digital works is more critical than ever,” said Millman. “Our work provides publishers and platform developers with the tools they need to balance innovation with sustainability, helping to safeguard scholarship for future generations.”
The project team embedded with publishers during the production cycle of nine publications across a range of disciplines—including archaeology, architecture, Russian literature, and scientific research—testing and refining the guidelines in real-world publishing scenarios. This hands-on collaboration revealed common preservation challenges and practical strategies for addressing them. Key project partners included the University of Michigan Press, Amherst College Press, British Archaeological Reports, University of Minnesota Press, Arte Público Press, American Psychological Association, Brown University Digital Projects, and the Center for Digital Humanities at Princeton.
Additionally, the team worked with platforms including Fulcrum, Manifold, and PubPub, to explore how publishing platforms can better support preservation needs. This engagement highlighted the tension between publisher priorities and platform capabilities and underscored the importance of early communication between all stakeholders in the publishing process.
To help publishers navigate these challenges independently, the project also developed the Preservability Self-Assessment Tool, a resource designed to guide users through key preservation considerations. The tool provides a structured approach for identifying risks, aligning publishing decisions with preservation best practices, and developing an action plan to ensure long-term access to digital scholarship.
The Guidelines for Preservability in New Forms of Scholarship and the Preservability Self-Assessment Tool were officially introduced on the scholarly communications form Feeding the Elephant. For more information, please visit the Embedding Preservability website.
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