Trusted, standards-based preservation for digital collections

Preservation is initiated directly from JSTOR Digital Stewardship Services. When you choose to preserve a project, content is sent to Portico through a simple, one‑click action. Portico does not impose a fixed file size limit for preserved content; very large files can be preserved, though upload time depends on file size and network speed.

Fixity checks are run shortly after content is ingested into Portico, and on a recurring basis thereafter. If a problem is detected, the affected copy is repaired by replacing it with a verified replica, ensuring the preserved content remains intact over time.

Yes. Participants can purchase additional preservation storage in 1 TB increments as their needs grow.

The underlying preservation infrastructure is the same, but workflows differ. Journal and ebook content follow specialized processes designed for those formats, including normalization to support future trigger access. Digital collections preserved through JSTOR Stewardship use streamlined workflows focused on preserving supplied files and descriptive metadata without format migration.

Participants can log into Portico’s audit site to view and verify preserved content, including details about each preserved item. Access support is available through JSTOR Stewardship Support if needed.

Yes. Through the Portico audit site, participants can review individual records and download complete archival packages for preserved items. Limited reporting is also available, such as ingest status and file format summaries.

Preservation activities are managed automatically. Participants can review the current status of preserved content at any time via the Portico audit site.

Portico uses a combination of purpose-built, in-house tools to manage preservation ingest and monitoring. These tools support activities such as organizing archival packages, extracting technical metadata, and managing long-term storage and integrity checks. Portico publishes details about its technical metadata practices in its preservation policies.

When content is preserved, files and associated metadata are packaged into archival information packages (AIPs) designed for long-term management. Portico records descriptive metadata, extracts technical metadata, and prepares standardized archival packages that support integrity monitoring and future management. Specific processing steps may vary by file format.

When you choose to preserve a project, content is sent to Portico through a simple, one‑click action. From there the content is organized into archival packages, characterized with preservation metadata, securely stored, replicated across independent locations, and monitored over time through regular integrity checks. Once ingested, preservation is managed automatically without ongoing manual action from participants.

Portico maintains geographically distributed infrastructure. Details are documented in Portico’s published replication and backup policies.

Each preserved item is stored as a complete archival package. A primary copy is maintained and replicated to additional geographically dispersed, independent storage locations to protect against data loss.

Once preservation is enabled, new content and updates are automatically sent from JSTOR Digital Stewardship Services to Portico on a regular schedule. When updates occur, Portico adds a copy of all files as a new version of the content, rather than overwriting the original. All versions are retained in the item’s archival package, providing a clear preservation history and assurance that earlier versions remain available if needed.

For digital collections preserved through JSTOR Stewardship, formats are not automatically migrated. Portico monitors formats over time and publishes its approach through its preservation policies.

Preservation workflows are consistent across content types, with some variation in technical metadata extraction depending on file format. Journal and ebook content may undergo additional steps due to their access requirements.

Removing content from JSTOR Stewardship does not remove it from preservation. Requests to remove preserved content from Portico must be made separately and can be done a limited number of times per year.