Open is not forever: a study of vanished open access journals

TL;DR

This study investigates the phenomenon of open access journals disappearing from the web between 2000 and 2019, highlighting risks to scholarly record preservation and emphasizing the need for better archival practices.

Contribution

It is the first comprehensive analysis of vanished open access journals, using multiple bibliographic sources and the Internet Archive to quantify and understand this phenomenon.

Findings

174 open access journals vanished from the web between 2000 and 2019.

Vanished journals span all disciplines and regions.

Highlights the need for improved preservation of scholarly records.

Abstract

The preservation of the scholarly record has been a point of concern since the beginning of knowledge production. With print publications, the responsibility rested primarily with librarians, but the shift toward digital publishing and, in particular, the introduction of open access (OA) have caused ambiguity and complexity. Consequently, the long-term accessibility of journals is not always guaranteed, and they can even disappear from the web completely. The focus of this exploratory study is on the phenomenon of vanished journals, something that has not been carried out before. For the analysis, we consulted several major bibliographic indexes, such as Scopus, Ulrichsweb, and the Directory of Open Access Journals, and traced the journals through the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine. We found 174 OA journals that, through lack of comprehensive and open archives, vanished from the web between 2000 and 2019, spanning all major research disciplines and geographic regions of the world. Our results raise vital concern for the integrity of the scholarly record and highlight the urgency to take collaborative action to ensure continued access and prevent the loss of more scholarly knowledge. We encourage those interested in the phenomenon of vanished journals to use the public dataset for their own research.