by Tim McCluske
Quick Summary
The Western Regional Storage Trust is a shared print repository for journals serving member libraries west of the Mississippi River.
The Western Regional Storage Trust is a shared print repository for journals serving member libraries west of the Mississippi River. More than 70 research and academic libraries have archived half a million journal volumes as part of the WEST Program.
There are two ways to participate: an Archive Holder retains print copies for a journal family; an Archive Builder actively works to build complete backfiles of journal families. There are four types of journal archives based on how comprehensive the archive building is:
- Bronze – Has no validation standards, there a lots of copies so overall risk is low, stored in a facility with a fire detection system.
- Silver – Validated for completeness at volume level, moderate risk of loss, stored in a secured facility preferred.
- Gold – Validated at the issue level for completeness and condition, at moderate or high risk, stored in an environmentally stable facility.
- Platinum – Validated for completeness and condition at the page level, appropriate for titles at high risk or of high quality, stored in a storage facility that maintains specific environmental levels - a temperature of less than 70%, relative humidity between 30-60%, plus minimal lighting and an advanced fire detection and suppression system.
This post barely scratches the surface of WEST, for more information visit WEST at: http://www.cdlib.org/services/west/about/.
