JISC

Final Report now available

The extension builds on the work of the IRI Scotland project.

Aims and Objectives

Technical Development

The extension to the project will create a branded access point for the pilot hosting repository, designed to supply repository services for smaller institutions. At the moment it is possible to search the holdings of individual Scottish IRs through the central harvester’s search facility. However we do not have branded access to the hosting repository available. The presence of such branded space, tailorable for each institutions requirements (via stylesheets) would be a major incentive for smaller institutions to become involved in depositing their research output in the hosting repository. The new version of Digital Commons is using brandable space for researchers, departments and individuals as a major selling point for institutions interested in having a third-party IR service.  However, there are significant differences between the IRI Scotland work and the Digital Commons offer.

Metadata Guidelines

We can extend the good practice guidance for metadata produced by the original project, and include advice on the use and implementation of the SWAP profile and other modified DC-based profiles. It is expected that these will come into use in the near future. There is also some work which needs to be done on promoting both the metadata agreement and its use within the Scottish Common Information Environment. The Centre for Digital Library Research (CDLR) at the University of Strathclyde will provide an updated set of guidelines, in conjunction with other interested parties, including the Scottish Library and Information Council (SLIC), the Scottish Common Information Environment, and the Scottish Government. The CDLR will also produce an updated version of the draft metadata agreement for Scotland, taking account of richer APs, and promote the take-up of this agreement by SCURL, SLIC and the Scottish Government. The project will present at one international conference.

Advocacy

Further advocacy work needs to be done, principally on the basis of the response to the initial project survey (April – May 2006), the follow-up tour of institutions (spring – autumn 2007), and the site visits and demonstrations which took place between November and December 2008 (WP4). Following on from this work, we will carry out a series of discussion groups with academics at institutions within Scotland. These meetings will be with academics publishing research, rather than the senior librarians, librarians, & and technical implementers we met with during the original project. The NLS business analyst and the project manager will do demonstrations and walkthroughs in the case of institutions which have no IR of their own. The aim will be to ask in more detail for their views on open access, and repositories, why they do /do not deposit in either institutional or subject based repositories, what their views are on mandates etc. These discussions will be carried out locally at a range of institutions. The geographical spread will cover Aberdeen, Dundee, Stirling, Edinburgh, Glasgow, and St. Andrews. We will engage the help of the Scottish Library & Information Council to help us access the Scottish Government in order to promote the use of the technology and open access in general. The project will close with an advocacy event.

Network Infrastructure

We propose to survey the issues around network infrastructures with other players in the field, with a view to understanding to scope and the desirability of agreeing a way of working, in order to create efficient and quality assured processes for repository aggregation and search (WP5). We also intend to discuss the consequences of the absence of rational network infrastructure.