Well-maintained digital repositories can bolster research

“Universities in Africa should establish digital research data repositories to archive important information gathered over time for posterity purposes, an important tool that can serve as an alternative to and complement open-access publishing.

Digital repositories would store critical data gathered by different researchers who are doing different research work over time, enriching archives already maintained by universities but, even more importantly, boosting the visibility of academics and their institutions….”

U.S. Repository Network Information Session

“This session will share information about the development of the USRN and progress on its Action Plan 2022-2023, including desirable characteristics for digital publication repositories. A set of desirable characteristics alongside good practices is necessary to establish suitability of a digital publication repository to be an “agency-designated” repository for federally funded research as outlined in the August 2023 OSTP Memorandum. These desirable characteristics are intended to align / work in parallel with OSTP’s already issued Desirable Characteristics of Data Repositories for Federally Funded Research.

The U.S. Repository Network (USRN) is envisioned as an inclusive community committed to advancing repositories in the U.S. through advocacy, good practices, and community building. In this context, “U.S. repositories” refers to all open research repositories based in the U.S. regardless of content, host, or platform. That is, repositories containing articles, data, gray literature, and emerging forms of scholarship; repositories hosted by higher education institutions, research centers, or other nonprofit organizations; and repositories using open source or vended platforms, are considered to be part of this network. All such repositories are welcome to participate in the USRN as we seek to build value for all repositories in the U.S….”

Chefs de Cuisine: Perspectives from Publishing’s Top Table – Charles Watkinson – The Scholarly Kitchen

“In developing services, our philosophy is “first of a kind, not one of a kind.” A good example is the Fulcrum publishing platform, developed with support from the Mellon Foundation and now self-sustaining. Fulcrum shares an open-source backend with the Deep Blue data repository. That means every type of output is a first-class publication: A Fulcrum-hosted monograph with integrated multimedia gets the same stewardship commitment that Deep Blue applies to health sciences research data. And the creator of a research dataset gets the same rich metrics (e.g., citations, altmetrics, downloads) that we would deliver to a monograph author….

I think we’re at the “so now what” stage of open access (OA). With a critical mass of freely-available, reusable literature and data, what tangible benefits can publishers offer society? And how should publishers format and distribute the outputs of open scholarship to turn free access into valuable access? With this question in mind, we’re doing several things at Michigan: expanding discovery networks (e.g., creating best practices for research data through the Data Curation Network, delivering OA books to public libraries via the Palace project, highlighting quality certification via the DOAB PRISM service), making sure our platforms and content are accessible (staying current with Benetech Certified Global Accessible audits, making monographs available as audiobooks through the Google Text-to-Speech program) and scoping open source integrations with partners that complement Fulcrum’s functionality (working with Mellon and the Big Collection initiative to integrate Fulcrum, Manifold, and Humanities Commons, and integrating Fulcrum repository functionality into the Janeway journals platform). 

We’re also focused on how to measure and communicate the greater reach and engagement OA enables. We’re working with Curtin University to refine a publicly-accessible Books Analytics Dashboard and partnering with Jisc and Lyrasis to expand US participation in IRUS repository statistics. The IP Registry is developing a product with us to identify the institutional use of OA books, and we’re supporting the OAeBU project to build a trusted framework for publishers to exchange OA usage metrics. We recorded at least 12 million Total Item Requests in 2022 for Michigan Publishing publications. But that’s a meaningless number unless put in context.

 

Authors should never be required to pay to publish open works. Let’s try and avoid perpetuating or creating a new inequity of access. The Fund to Mission program, supported by our parent institution and more than 100 libraries, enables this for U-M Press. We also partner with a consortium of over 50 liberal arts colleges to run Lever Press as a truly diamond open-access book publisher. The capacity to do such work is building. I particularly credit Lyrasis Open Programs, the BTAA Big Collection academy-led publishing program, the American Council of Learned Societies Publishing Initiatives, the S2O community of practice, and the Open Access Books Network….

I worry that larger publishers with better resources to handle complexities like transformative agreements are sucking away the resources to support open-access books and journals. Small, independent publishers (barely for-profit, if commercial) face similar challenges to university presses. We must ensure that funder and library policies don’t accidentally erase the bibliodiversity that independent and institutional presses have brought to their regions and disciplines for decades. I am particularly excited by the potential that Path to Open (JSTOR) and the 

job: Institutional Repository Librarian, West Virginia University | Feb. 2023

“The Knowledge Access & Resource Management (KARM) Department in the Libraries at West Virginia University is seeking applications for an Institutional Repository Librarian. The Institutional Repository Librarian is responsible for managing the West Virginia University Institutional Repository and related technologies, with a focus on metadata to facilitate discovery, acquisition, and assessment of collections, and identity management to increase the impact of WVU’s intellectual output.  Collaborating with institutional stakeholders to acquire and promote the University’s digital and open scholarship and to maintain compliance with federal funding mandates, this position provides customer service and outreach to West Virginia University faculty, staff, students, and research affiliates, evaluates and implements third party integrations, and serves as workflow manager for projects within and across Libraries open publishing initiatives and the KARM Department. The Institutional Repository Librarian reports to the Head of Metadata Services in KARM….”

EIFL support boosts open access in Ghana | EIFL

“A project supported by EIFL has led to the establishment of seven new institutional open access repositories at institutions in Ghana. The project also improved repositories at nine institutions and strengthened understanding of open access journal publishing at 19 institutions. 

Implemented by our national partner library consortium, the Consortium of Academic and Research Libraries in Ghana (CARLIGH) in 2021/22, the project aimed to increase accessibility and visibility of research at CARLIGH member institutions….”

EIFL support boosts open access in Ghana | EIFL

“A project supported by EIFL has led to the establishment of seven new institutional open access repositories at institutions in Ghana. The project also improved repositories at nine institutions and strengthened understanding of open access journal publishing at 19 institutions. 

Implemented by our national partner library consortium, the Consortium of Academic and Research Libraries in Ghana (CARLIGH) in 2021/22, the project aimed to increase accessibility and visibility of research at CARLIGH member institutions….”

Institutional Repository Management and Outreach – Library Juice Academy, 2023-06 (June)

“…This class is an introduction to IRs both practically and conceptually. It covers the role of IRs in higher education and libraries and dives into the nuts and bolts of IR administrative responsibilities, including policy writing, online content management, editorial workflows, permissions and access restrictions, and outreach strategies. Most critically, this course provides a foundational knowledge base or IR managers navigating the complicated world of open access publishing….”

Institutional Repository Management and Outreach – Library Juice Academy, 2023-06 (June)

“…This class is an introduction to IRs both practically and conceptually. It covers the role of IRs in higher education and libraries and dives into the nuts and bolts of IR administrative responsibilities, including policy writing, online content management, editorial workflows, permissions and access restrictions, and outreach strategies. Most critically, this course provides a foundational knowledge base or IR managers navigating the complicated world of open access publishing….”

Open Access Policy of Central University of Haryana

“It is advised that all the scholarly works produced by the University funds or by other public funds either at Central University of Haryana (CUH) or elsewhere with CUH affiliation are to be deposited in the University’s open access institutional digital repository i.e. Gyan Pravah…. The University shall also set up a central harvester** using the OAI-PMH to harvest the publications of CUH researchers, faculty and students from the World Wide Web for the wider accessibility of the shared resources…. It is advised that all the archives, current/ future scholarly and grey literature viz., research articles, popular articles, book chapters, books, monographs, catalogues, conference proceedings, success stories, case studies, project reports, class/lecture notes, presentation slides, photos, videos, speeches, keynote addresses, patent grant publications, data sets etc., produced by the University or by the faculty/researchers/ students with CUH affiliation are to be made available in CUH- IDR…. In case of any copyright/ intellectual property rights issue/s with the data, information, or materials to be patented or commercialized, or where the promulgations would infringe a legal commitment by the University and/or the author, such data, information, or materials may be exempted from this Policy. However, after an embargo period once they are available in public domain/ open sharing/ archiving, the work/s is/are to be made accessible to the public via CUH-IDR…. All institutional publications of the University, journal articles, educational resources (text-books), edited books, book chapters, working papers, policy briefs, memorial lectures, research datasets, scientific data, final reports of sponsored projects, conference/ seminar proceedings, conference reports, information bulletins, newsletters, annual reports, audited annual accounts (which can be made public), booklets, convocation souvenirs and any other documents of institutional importance are to be made available in the CUH-IDR…. Preferably, the institutional publications such as journals, text books, proceedings, etc. may be published with open licenses. The authors of the publications may retain copyright of the work/s. 1.7. The University’s open access contents/ documents shall be licensed for public use under the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC-BY- NC-4.0) and the same shall be registered with SHERPA/ RoMEO database. The faculty members, researchers and students are advised to refer to SHERPA/ RoMEO to know about publishers’ policies on copyright and self-archiving…. All the faculty, researchers, and students are advised to use ‘Author’s Addendum’ at the time of acceptance and while signing the publishers’ copyright agreements mentioning the University’s Open Access Policy to deposit the publicly funded research outputs publicly available. Therefore, the publishers should allow the final version of the author’s peer-reviewed manuscript to be made available via CUH-IDR. And in case of any embargo, it should not be later than 6-8 months from publication date for making the deposits open to the public….”

Turner | Faculty Awareness and Use of an Institutional Repository at a Master’s Granting University | Journal of Librarianship and Scholarly Communication

Abstract:  Introduction: Assessment plays a significant role in managing a successful institutional repository (IR). This study combined the results of a faculty survey that measured faculty awareness of and participation in the IR of a single, state masters-granting institution with information regarding content type and downloads to draw conclusions regarding the composition and usage of the IR at this institution. Method: A survey was sent to 856 faculty members at Fort Hays State University (FHSU) that asked questions regarding awareness of the IR and participation in the IR demonstrated through deposit and access of materials. Statistics regarding content type and full-text downloads were collected from the repository platform. Collected data were compared with previous studies at other similar institutions to determine similitude or difference between this IR and other IRs at masters and baccalaureate institutions. Results & Discussion: Faculty awareness of and participation in the IR at FHSU is higher than that of other institutions, as shown in previous surveys, even though overall faculty participation remains low. The content of the IR is largely consistent with other similar institutions. Conclusion: The faculty survey combined with information regarding repository usage demonstrates that the FHSU Scholars Repository serves a different purpose for both faculty and users than designers envisioned. Efforts to force the IR to resemble that of a research institution may be misplaced. Further research on the content makeup of IRs at masters and baccalaureate institutions is needed to establish commonalities among smaller institutions.

 

Watson | Impact of an Institutional Repository on Viewers’ Experiences of a Student Art Exhibition | Journal of Librarianship and Scholarly Communication

Abstract:  Introduction: Since 2014, Boise State University’s institutional repository (IR) has included artwork from Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) exhibitions. This paper explores how the experience of viewing artwork at an in-person BFA exhibition differs from that of viewing an online representation of it, makes recommendations to increase viewer engagement with online representations of artwork, and suggests ways that online exhibitions can enhance in-person viewing. Method: The authors conducted two surveys, one of in-person exhibition attendees and one of online exhibition viewers. Fixed-answer results were analyzed quantitatively, whereas an inductive qualitative coding process was used to analyze survey comments. Results: In-person participants were more likely to view all the artwork, spend more time at the exhibition, and view individual artwork for longer. Online participants were more likely to view artists’ statements. Online survey participants who attended the in-person exhibition preferred the in-person exhibition. Discussion: Results point toward a need to increase online viewers’ engagement with exhibition artwork, many of them centered around improving the usability of the IR interface. Finally, several benefits of the online environment are noted. Conclusion: Although the online representation of the art exhibition in the IR is not a complete replacement for the in-person exhibition, it is a representation that the authors believe can positively influence a viewer’s experience of the BFA exhibition, whether they have viewed the in-person exhibition or not. Respondents’ comments in both surveys provided suggestions for improving the two exhibitions, as well as insights into how IR exhibitions enhance the in-person exhibition experience.

 

The Horrors of Good Intentions: Told through the story of a dark repository.

“The library manages a dark repository, named Dark Blue because I have no imagination, for material needing preservation but not public access such as preservation copies of digitized moving image and in-process born-digital material. You can read more about the implementation of this repository in this 2018 post. It is fair to say that Dark Blue had some growing pains over these past few years that include incorrect packaging of material and broken deposit and withdrawal workflows. While these sound like technical problems, the thesis of this post is that our troubles with Dark Blue are not based on bad systems or policies, but the limitation of people and time, and choosing to do the “nice” thing over the realistic thing….”

 

Empirical validation of IR sustainability model: leveraging on a PLS-SEM approach | Emerald Insight

Abstract:  Purpose This study aims to validate a proposed conceptual model for the implementation of sustainable institutional repositories (IRs) in Nigeria.

Design/methodology/approach

A quantitative approach shaped the survey research design. This study used structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis to evaluate the proposed model. The population of the study comprises 117 librarians, information technology staff and researchers knowledgeable about IR implementation status across 14 public universities in Nigeria. The data was collected using an online survey. The Smart-PLS v3.3 software was used to facilitate the analysis.

Findings

The findings indicate that the nine identified factors of the IR sustainability model have a significant influence on the implementation of sustainable IRs. This signified that the model has adequately depicted the relationship between the implementation of sustainable IRs and the identified factors.

Originality/value

This study provides an integrated synthesis of factors that influence the implementation of sustainable IRs. This study also presents the first-ever empirically validated model for sustainable IRs. The findings of this study addressed the challenge of implementing sustainable IRs and institutionalized the idea of IRs’ sustainability assessment.

University of Leeds Publications Policy – Research and Innovation Service

“Author requirements

Authors must comply with their funders’ policies relating to open access and research data management. 
Authors must register for an individual ORCiD identifier and should link it to their University Publications Database profile [2], include it on any personal webpage, when submitting publications, when applying for grants, and in any research workflow to ensure that the individual is credited for their work and that the correct institutional affiliation is achieved.  
Authors must use a standardised institutional affiliation “University of Leeds” in all research outputs to ensure clear affiliation with the University of Leeds. 
Authors must specify authors’ contributions in all research outputs to ensure individuals’ roles are identifiable and duly recognised. 
Authors must include a Data Access Statement in all research outputs even where there are no data associated with the publication or the data are inaccessible. The statement informs readers where the associated underlying research materials are available and how they can be accessed.  
Authors must acknowledge the source of grant funding associated with a research output in all research outputs. Information about the grant should also be linked, by the author, to the record of the publication in the University Publications Database. Grant information in the University Publications Database is fed automatically from the University’s Grant Information System [3].  
Authors must retain the necessary rights to make the accepted manuscripts of research articles, including reviews and conference papers, publicly available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) licence. Recommended wording to include in manuscript submissions is in Appendix 1. This requirement does not apply but is strongly recommended for outputs solely or jointly authored by PGRs (only).  
Authors must record bibliographic details of all research outputs in the University’s publications database. For peer-reviewed research articles, including reviews and conference papers, this must be done as soon as possible after acceptance for publication. When creating the record in the University’s publications database, complete the appropriate fields to confirm that a data access and a rights retention statement have been added to the output itself. 
Authors must deposit full text copies of final accepted peer-reviewed research articles, including reviews and conference papers into the institutional repository, via the University’s publications database as soon as possible after acceptance for publication. Where the output is already available open access via the publisher website a link may be provided instead. The deposit of other outputs e.g. monographs is also encouraged where copyright permits. 
Where copyright allows and there are no confidentiality or commercial constraints, the research outputs in the institutional repository must be made ‘open access’, i.e. freely accessible over the internet. 
Outputs must be made open access as soon as possible after acceptance [4]….”