Open Access Archiving and Long-Term Preservation Policy
1. General Provisions
The scientific journal Environment & Health adheres to the principles of Open Access, long-term digital preservation of scholarly publications, and the provision of stable access to scientific research findings.
The purpose of this policy is to establish procedures for the storage, archiving, protection, and recovery of the journal's published materials, ensuring the integrity of the scholarly record and the long-term accessibility of publications.
This policy applies to published articles, journal issues, bibliographic metadata, and supplementary materials stored on the journal's publishing platform.
Archiving activities are carried out in accordance with internationally recognized practices in open-access scholarly publishing and digital preservation.
2. Open Access to Publications
The journal provides free and unrestricted access to published scholarly articles without requiring a subscription or user registration.
Full-text articles are available through the journal's official website.
Scholarly articles are published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license, which permits the use, reproduction, distribution, and adaptation of published materials, provided that appropriate credit is given to the authors, the original source is acknowledged, and all other applicable license conditions are met.
Authors retain copyright in their articles and grant the journal a non-exclusive right of first publication.
The conditions governing the reuse of published materials are defined in the journal's Licensing and Copyright Policy. Previously published materials remain subject to the licensing terms and legal agreements applicable at the time of their publication.
3. Official Electronic Archive of the Journal
The journal's official website, which operates on the Open Journal Systems (OJS) platform, serves as the primary resource for hosting and preserving published materials.
The journal's issue archive provides access to published issues, full-text articles, and essential bibliographic information.
A dedicated webpage is maintained for each article, containing relevant metadata, including the article title, author information, abstract, keywords, DOI, and a link to the full text.
The editorial office ensures the bibliographic integrity of the archive, the continuity of journal issues, the identification of individual articles, and the maintenance of links between related publications.
Published materials must not be removed or altered without appropriate editorial justification and documentation of the relevant actions.
4. Preservation of Materials in National and International Information Resources
4.1. V. I. Vernadskyi National Library of Ukraine
The journal is represented in the bibliographic and information resources of the V. I. Vernadskyi National Library of Ukraine of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.
Information about the journal, its published issues, and bibliographic records contributes to the preservation of scientific information and facilitates access to publications for researchers.
Information resources of the V. I. Vernadskyi National Library of Ukraine.
Bibliographic coverage of the journal in information systems does not replace independent long-term digital preservation of full-text publications.
4.2. International Long-Term Digital Preservation Systems
The journal may use specialized international digital preservation services, including:
- PKP Preservation Network (PKP PN) – a long-term preservation network for scholarly content published through Open Journal Systems.
- LOCKSS – a distributed digital preservation system.
- CLOCKSS – an international long-term preservation system for scholarly publications.
- Portico – a digital archiving service for scholarly content.
Information about the digital preservation services actually used by the journal will be made publicly available once the journal's participation has been confirmed and the relevant materials have been successfully archived.
The journal's inclusion in bibliographic databases, search engines, or DOI registration services does not, in itself, demonstrate that its full-text content is independently preserved for the long term.
5. Technical Preservation Measures
5.1. Electronic File Formats
The primary format used to distribute full-text articles is PDF.
For long-term digital preservation, preference is given to standardized formats that support accessibility and future reuse of materials, including PDF/A.
Bibliographic metadata are stored in the electronic publishing system and may be exported in formats supported by OJS and relevant information services.
Where appropriate technical infrastructure is available, structured XML/JATS formats may be used to represent article content and metadata.
The use of specific archival formats depends on the actual technical capabilities of the publishing platform and is verified during electronic archive quality control procedures.
5.2. Data Backup
The publisher organizes regular backups of the journal's materials and data stored in the OJS editorial management system to prevent loss resulting from technical failures, equipment damage, cyberattacks, or other emergencies.
The following components are subject to backup:
- The OJS database.
- Full-text articles and supplementary files.
- Electronic materials associated with journal issues.
- Publishing platform configuration.
- Essential metadata and related system information.
Backup frequency, storage locations, access permissions, and restoration procedures are determined by the publisher's internal technical procedures.
The ability to restore information from backup copies is subject to periodic verification.
5.3. Integrity and Accessibility Monitoring
The publishing platform administrator performs technical monitoring of the electronic archive's accessibility, file integrity, link functionality, and preservation of bibliographic metadata.
Where damaged or inaccessible materials are identified, appropriate measures are taken to restore them from available, verified backup copies.
6. Persistent Identifiers and Bibliographic Metadata
Scholarly articles published by the journal are assigned Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) registered through Crossref.
DOIs provide persistent identification of scholarly publications and enable users to access their current webpages.
The editorial office and publisher ensure that registered metadata remain accurate and up to date, including:
- Article titles.
- Authors and their institutional affiliations.
- Bibliographic details of journal issues.
- Publication dates.
- Article DOIs and URLs.
- Licensing information.
- Information on post-publication corrections and retractions, where applicable.
If the journal's domain name, website structure, or publishing platform changes, the URLs associated with registered DOIs must be updated to maintain the continuity of bibliographic links.
DOI registration provides persistent identification and supports reliable linking but does not replace preservation of the article's full text.
7. Preservation of the Scholarly Record Following Corrections or Retractions
The journal is committed to maintaining the integrity of the scholarly record.
The following editorial actions may be taken after article publication:
- Correction.
- Expression of Concern.
- Retraction.
Information about substantial post-publication changes must be appropriately documented and made accessible to readers.
As a general rule, a retracted article remains available in the electronic archive, clearly marked as “Retracted” and linked to the corresponding retraction notice.
Complete removal of published material is permitted only under exceptional circumstances, particularly where its continued availability would violate legal requirements, infringe individuals' rights, or pose substantial risks that cannot be adequately addressed through other measures.
In such cases, the bibliographic record should be retained, where possible, together with an explanation of the publication's status.
Information about post-publication changes is communicated to Crossref and other relevant information systems in accordance with their technical capabilities.
Detailed procedures are specified in the journal's Retraction Policy.
8. Author Self-Archiving
The journal supports authors' right to independently deposit and disseminate their scholarly works through open-access channels.
Authors may deposit the following versions:
Preprint – a preliminary version of a manuscript made available before completion of independent journal peer review.
Preprint posting is permitted in accordance with the journal's Preprint Policy.
Accepted Manuscript – the version of an article following completion of scientific peer review and acceptance for publication but before final editorial production.
Version of Record – the official published version of an article, including its bibliographic information and journal-assigned DOI.
For articles published under the CC BY 4.0 license, immediate dissemination of the Version of Record is permitted without an embargo period, subject to the terms of that license.
Authors may deposit their works in institutional and subject-specific repositories, on personal websites, and through other scholarly platforms, provided that applicable copyright and licensing conditions are observed.
When disseminating the Version of Record, authors must acknowledge the authorship, journal title, year of publication, DOI, and applicable license.
Author self-archiving does not replace the publisher's responsibility to maintain the accessibility of the journal's official archive.
9. Continued Accessibility in the Event of Journal Discontinuation
In the event of a change of publisher, domain name, or publishing platform, or if the journal ceases publication, the publisher takes measures to preserve published scholarly materials and maintain their bibliographic identification.
Such measures may include:
- Transferring the electronic archive to another authorized organization or a trusted repository.
- Ensuring continued access through established long-term digital preservation services.
- Maintaining or updating DOI resolution URLs.
- Preserving bibliographic metadata, licensing information, and publication status records.
- Informing readers and authors of the archive's new location.
The specific preservation arrangements are determined by existing agreements, technical capabilities, and the terms and conditions of the relevant archival services.
10. Responsibilities and Policy Review
The publisher bears overall responsibility for the organizational and technical arrangements required for the journal's archiving and preservation.
The editorial office ensures the appropriate presentation of published materials, the accuracy of bibliographic metadata, and the documentation of post-publication changes.
Within the scope of their assigned responsibilities, the OJS technical administrator is responsible for maintaining the electronic archive, performing backups, ensuring file accessibility, and managing technical interactions with external systems.
This policy is reviewed at least once every two years, as well as whenever substantial changes occur in the publishing platform, archiving systems, or international recommendations concerning digital preservation.
International Standards and Information Resources
