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Repositories Enhancement Project: Special Focus on Embedding

Manchester Metropolitan University has had a repository project, e-space, since April 2005 which led to the launch of its repository of research publications in October 2006. The project was led by Library Services as a natural extension of its role of managing information and assisting scholarly communication.

This project will address key issues and challenges relating to repository enhancement: advocacy; content acquisition; embedding of the repository into University strategy and workflows. It will undertake surveys of research staff and present formative and summative evaluation reports from a post-1992, multi-site and multi-discipline university that has outsourced its hybrid e-prints repository service.

Aims and Objectives

• To test the hypothesis that an increase in advocacy will lead to an increase in content for repositories and also, the embedding of the repository into University strategy, policies and workflows, in particular, into library workflows
• To determine the extent of MMU research and to make it freely available via e-space to the global community
• To produce formative and summative evaluation reports from a post-1992, multi-site and multi-discipline university that has outsourced its hybrid e-prints repository service
• To present the experience of e-space as a unique case study including the sharing of all findings and best practice in the start-up and management of an outsourced repository

Project Methodology

The project will be managed following JISC’s best practice guidelines and will report to the existing e-space Steering Group and proposed Advisory Committee. The Project Manager will lead the Project Team and the project will also involve existing library staff – subject librarians for advocacy and Library Support Services staff for embedding procedures into current workflows.

Anticipated Outcomes and Outputs

• A service oriented approach, underpinned by a policy which e mbeds e-space into University strategy and policy and into administrative and technical workflows/procedures, in order to develop m ore efficient workflows based on common and/or best practices and upon the newly emerging national deposit API as appropriate
• Provide interoperability with the MMU Research Management System to create a single research repository, improving both administration and dissemination of research output
• Quantifiable targets for content and a critical mass of content to support the RAE 2008 submissions process
• Open Access policy
• Advocacy plan

Technology / Standards Used

We will use the metadata and harvesting standards as recommended by the JISC Standards Catalogue which has been developed to support the Digital Repositories Programme 

In addition we will work closely with BioMed Central with the aim of working towards implementation of the Eprints DC Application Profile