Open Repository Blog
Aiding those in poverty: Oxfam GB partners with Open Repository
Today Oxfam GB,
a leading international charity with a worldwide reputation for
excellence in the delivery of humanitarian aid and development work, has
adopted Open Repository’s enhanced DSpace hosted solution.
When
Oxfam began a project to create a website to handle their policy,
practice and research materials for professional audiences, they
realized there was no single, secure deposit location for their digital
assets on poverty and suffering worldwide. Hence, they decided to
implement a repository that could store their digital assets in multiple
formats, have simple search and deposit functions to suit users with no
background in repository use, and therefore enable Oxfam to showcase
their large and ever evolving output of research, program learning and
policy information to a global audience.
Having decided they
needed a repository, Oxfam chose to implement a hosted solution because
they lacked dedicated resources in-house to develop, manage and support
one. By partnering with Open Repository, they received a customized
repository: the Oxfam iLibrary comes from a “tried and tested” company
which incorporates advanced open source features and upgrades. This
removed the internal technical demands required of an in-house solution,
allowing Oxfam to focus on developing the content of the repository
with their staff worldwide and ensuring quality metadata so their
content is easy to find.
Speaking as the new system went live,
Robert Cornford, Communications Manager from Oxfam GB said, “We have had
a very interesting experience working with Open Repository to establish
the Oxfam iLibrary, from working out a classification system for our
very varied content through developing a remote deposit structure so
people across our programme offices with limited IT experience can
upload materials, to integrating with a separate website. We now have a
repository where we can capture our experience for internal programme
development, and share our knowledge externally easily and quickly
through the website. Our repository, the Oxfam iLibrary, will have an
immediate impact on our own ways of working internally and, with our new
information website now live, will make our content available to
external audiences across the world.”
To learn more about why Oxfam chose a repository and how it was implemented, read their case study.
To
see the new Oxfam website for development professionals, fed from the
Oxfam iLibrary, visit to the Oxfam Policy and Practice website.
To learn more about how Open Repository can help you meet your open access requirements, please get in touch.
Posted by Nishkala Thiru at 15:37 Comments (0)
University of Derby internally launch their repository
The University of Derby recently held an internal launch for their research department to introduce their repository: UDORA.
The Pro Vice Chancellor for Research, Philip Plowden was the main speaker at the well-attended event, along with the Head of Research, Professor Paul Bridges. Both gave impressive speeches on the benefits of open access and institutional repositories with many recognized benefits for the institute, researchers, the library and the general public as a whole.
The day was hosted by Richard Finch, Academic Services Manager for the University Library and the repository team: Melanie Keady, E-Resources Development Manager, Tim Peacock, E-Resources & Interlending Administrator and Val Wilkins, Resource and Metadata Librarian who have all put in a great deal of effort in making UDORA a success.
It was a pleasure to be invited to the event and be available to speak directly with the researchers, whom have shown a great deal of enthusiasm for the repository. This launch has been very successful with a large increase of submissions from the researchers since the launch date with predicted figures expected to grow even more rapidly.
Open Repository was also honored in the speeches given, for the excellent service that the UDORA team have received. You can read more details via the case study.
If you have any questions about UDORA or Open Repository, please do get in touch.
Claire Bundy, Open Repository Specialist
Posted by Nishkala Thiru at 16:13 Comments (0)
Open Repository Releases OpenAthens SP
Open Repository, the enhanced DSpace hosted service from
BioMed Central has always worked with institutes to provide LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) to enable
access and maintain a distributed directory service for accessing individual
repositories. Directory services provide
an organized set of records, often with a hierarchical structure, enabling the
need for a ‘Single Sign-On’ for all solutions held within an organization,
without the need for individual solution log-in details.
I am pleased to announce that this service has been extended for OpenAthens SP (Service Provider). OpenAthens SP is a standard compliant platform which enables users to securely manage access to all the solutions held within their organization via a Single Sign-On portal. This also includes Shibboleth and SAML which are welcome standards within the Open Repository community.
If you would like any further information regarding our service and how we can share our expertise with you, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Claire Bundy
Open Repository Specialist
Posted by Nishkala Thiru at 17:19 Comments (0)
Open Repository in the USA: The University of Arizona’s repository
Open Repository is pleased to announce its first institutional US customer, the University of Arizona.
As a premier public research university, the University of Arizona’s Campus Repository, managed by the University Libraries, supports the dissemination of campus intellectual output by collecting, archiving and preserving scholarly materials produced by campus faculty and researchers, as well as showcasing the materials to an unrestricted audience on a global scale.
The University Libraries sought a hosted solution for the Campus Repository because they wanted to benefit from the experience and expertise the Open Repository staff had with DSpace technology. By implementing the Open Repository service, the Libraries now have a uniquely customized, reliable and cost-effective repository solution which allows library staff to focus on working with faculty and students to develop and maintain content in the repository. In addition, Open Repository migrated the School of Information Resources & Library Science’s DLIST collection from E-Prints into the hosted DSpace UA Campus Repository.
When asked about the services from Open Repository, Kimberly Chapman, Campus Repository Service Librarian at University of Arizona said “The set up process has been straightforward and easy; we've appreciated the support from Open Repository. Open Repository has been helpful with metadata schema customizations and batch loading that have helped us move forward with several collections.”
If you would like to learn more about the University of Arizona’s Campus Repository or Open Repository, please do get in touch.
Posted by Nishkala Thiru at 10:31 Comments (0)
Virginia Henderson Library repository launched
The Virginia Henderson International Nursing Library (VHL) is the latest Open Repository customer to have launched their repository at the Sigma Theta Tau International (STTI) Biennial Convention in Texas last Saturday, 29th October.
STTI offers nurses, in all roles around the globe, online access to reliable nursing information that can be easily utilized and shared. Recent advances in Internet technologies and wider policies regarding mandatory open access to published articles influenced STTI’s decision to expand their online Registry of Nursing Research abstract database into a new, full-text service.
Margie Wilson, Library Manager at STTI stated “When looking to enhance our system, we found that the Open Repository system offered by BioMed Central provided the services that would support the conversion and delivery of our existing data into the format needed to support the enhancements.”
Open Repository’s stand at the convention has received some great feedback on the repository – you can view some photos of the event here.
If you would like to learn more about the VHL repository or Open Repository, please do get in touch.
Posted by Nishkala Thiru at 11:30 Comments (0)
Open Repository attends the RSP Conference and Software Exhibition
I was very pleased to attend the Repositories and CRIS: working smartly together event that was held at the University of Nottingham last month. The event looked at the interaction of repositories and CRIS systems (Current Research Information Systems).
It was a well attended and interactive event with some great presentations on the current status of repositories and CRIS solutions working together in the UK. It also covered ‘home grown’ CRIS systems and the CERIF and CERIF4REF standards. There were many different views within the room but the whole consensus was that we need to look at these integrations in readiness for the REF.
Open Repository has helped its clients through the RAE and will be offering a robust solution for institutes that will be taking part in the REF. If you would like any further information regarding our service and how we plan to help institutes comply with the REF, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Claire Bundy,
Open Repository Specialist
Posted by Claire Bundy at 14:14 Comments (0)
Developer Challenge at OR11 in Austin
At the recent Open Repositories 2011 conference in Austin, one of the highlights was the Developer Challenge sponsored by DevSCI and coordinated by Mahendra Mahey. Open Repository’s entry demonstrated how the RESTful API module for DSpace can harvest communities and collections in DSpace
and be browsed in real-time in Joomla. We also demonstrated the ability
to deposit via a combination of SWORD and the RESTful API from Joomla
into a selected repository collection, and based on the credentials, a
specific part of the workflow. The presentation is available to view here.
As
the REST API is going to be part of the upcoming 1.8 release, the use
of the module will not be necessary to take advantage of the technology.
Using Joomla as a browseable front end to a DSpace repository opens up
significant opportunities for presentation of the communities and
collections and how they are interacted with.
Posted by Michael Guthrie at 15:17 Comments (0)
Claire Bundy, Open Repository Specialist, is the second member of the Open Repository Team to become a member of the DSpace Community Advisory Team (DCAT). Our service is a long-standing registered service provider for DuraSpace, and this further shows Open Repository’s commitment to helping to advance the DSpace software and developing resources/tools for DSpace users.
The primary goals of DCAT are to help review and facilitate community-wide discussions about new feature requests and to provide support to the DSpace Committer group in producing software releases. This also includes finding project groups or stakeholders who could work on the development of the features.
Claire’s other activities for DCAT will also include:
- Monthly team teleconferences
- Review new feature requests, provide drafts of recommendations and lead DCAT discussion on the request
- Provide feedback about specific new feature requests
- Collaborate on other project, tools, resources which serve the community
- Help organize user group meetings
- Participate in mailing lists or discussion forums to share knowledge and best practices
- Periodically attend the DSpace Committers meetings
Claire Bundy
Open Repository
Posted by Claire Bundy at 17:11 Comments (0)
University of Bedfordshire adopts Open Repository
Open Repository is pleased to announce the University of Bedfordshire as a new customer, and welcome them into the OR community.
The University of Bedfordshire is the largest higher education institution in the county and has gained national recognition for its achievements in widening participation and teaching. The university has also established eight research institutes, which act to focus the research output of university staff, increase and support research quality and help communicate more widely its research achievements.
We welcome the university both to the Open Repository and open access communities and will continue to work in partnership with them for their green open access needs. Keep referring to our blog for details of their launched repository.
If you would like to find out more about how Open Repository works in partnership with its global clients, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Claire Bundy
Open Repository Specialist
Posted by Claire Bundy at 12:00 Comments (0)
Open Repository Attends ALA 2011, New Orleans, 23 – 28 June 2011
Well yet another fantastic event took place at the recent Annual ALA conference. Open Repository just had to attend again and of course, New Orleans is a beautiful city as well!
The Annual Conference is the world’s largest event for the library community, bringing together more than 25,000 librarians, educators, authors, literacy experts and illustrators. There are hundreds of programs spanning the hot topics and current issues affecting libraries and the communities they serve suitable for attendees from any size or type of library.
Open Repository had its own stand this year which was very well attended. I had the pleasure of meeting with many librarians from all continents and all types of organizations to discuss their views and requirements for hosted repositories and how we can work in partnership with them to fulfil their needs.
Bob Schatz, North American Sales Manager and I also conducted a well received workshop: BioMed Central and Open Repository: A Comprehensive Approach to Open Access. It provided an overview of BioMed Central’s publishing activities and Open Repository, its hosted repository service, and how they combine to provide a comprehensive approach to open access. The presentation also discussed the growing role of institutional repositories, and how they can be acquired and implemented. The slides are now available for review.
For further information on how we can help organizations with their hosted repositories needs, please do get in touch.
Claire Bundy, Open Repository Specialist
Posted by Claire Bundy at 09:47 Comments (0)
Open Repository joins the DSpace Community Advisory Team
Michael Guthrie, Manager of the Open Repository service, has recently become a member of the DSpace Community Advisory Team (DCAT). This shows Open Repository’s commitment to helping to advance the DSpace software and developing resources/tools for DSpace users.
The primary goals of DCAT are to help review and facilitate community-wide discussions about new feature requests in JIRA, and to provide support to the DSpace Committer group in producing software releases. This also includes finding project groups or stakeholders who could work on the development of the features.
Posted by Claire Bundy at 14:23 Comments (0)
Open Repository’s first Saudi Arabian Repository: KAUST
King Abdullah University of Science & Technology (KAUST) is a new international university based in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. With more than 60 nationalities of students, faculty and staff, its 36 square kilometer campus has cutting-edge laboratory and research facilities. Their mission is to advance science and technology through bold and collaborative research whilst educating scientific and technological leaders.
The launch of this repository with Open Repository will enable KAUST to capture and showcase their institute’s research and provide a centrally located, searchable index that can be showcased worldwide.
We welcome KAUST both to the Open Repository and open access communities and look forward to working in partnership with them for their green open access needs.
Posted by Claire Bundy at 14:23 Comments (0)
BioMed Central attends Gulf SLA-AGC
I was pleased to be in attendance at the Gulf SLA-AGC conference last month in Muscat, Oman. Hosted in the opulent surroundings of the Al-Bustan Hotel, it really did set the scene and provided an amazing backdrop for the two and a half day event.
I gave a 20 minute introduction to open access and information on how institutions can comply with open access mandates, implement open access at their institutions and follow the green route through setting up an institutional repository. The slides are now available to view here.
The presentation was well received and afterwards many people had questions on how exactly this could work at their institutions. Open access is still in its infancy in the Middle East so the reaction to my presentation was encouraging and provided a great insight into scholarly communication and the future dissemination of research.
All in all it was a great conference and I am looking forward to returning again soon. If you would like know more about the presentation or Open Repository, please do get in touch.
Simon Neilson,
Sales Executive
Posted by Claire Bundy at 19:00 Comments (0)
University of Derby’s UDORA Briefing Day
The University of Derby recently had their very well attended Pilot Project Briefing Day, informing their researchers about their new UDORA repository. The day was hosted by Richard Finch, Academic Services Manager for the University Library and Melanie Keady, E-Resources Development Manager.
It was a pleasure to be invited to speak at the event and present the benefits of an open access repository for the university and individual researchers. The presentation was followed by an in-depth demonstration of the functionality of UDORA and the service they could expect to receive from Open Repository.
Copyright issues and publisher’s policies had been identified as a primary concern for participants prior to the briefing day. Therefore, presentations by RSP about general open access and the availability of Sherpa Romeo and Juliet as tools to identify what is required to make publications open access and the policies of publishers in relation to this, were very well received.
It was exciting to see a lot of enthusiasm from researchers about the repository and I am looking forward to the progress of the pilot project and UDORA’s official launch later this year.
If you have any questions about UDORA or Open Repository, please do get in touch.
Posted by Claire Bundy at 10:22 Comments (0)
Open Repository Attends the DINI/Helmholtz Workshop
Open Repository had great pleasure to be invited to present at a Helmholtz open access workshop in cooperation with the German Initiative for Networked Information (DINI), hosted by Humboldt University Berlin.
About DINI
The development of modern information and communication technology requires a change in the information infrastructure of universities and other research institutions. The German Initiative for Networked Information (DINI) was established to promote and manage this change, including through agreements, cooperation, recommendations and standards.
The Workshop was well attended by representatives of German universities and research institutes and was an opportunity to share best practice and hear initiatives of the institutional repositories that are well established there. Further information is available here.
Open Repository hosted a presentation about the benefits of implementing a repository, and included a case study on the Helmholtz Centre for Infectious Diseases, whom we have worked in partnership with since 2004. The presentation was entitled ‘Drivers and Benefits of a Hosted Solution’ and is available to view here.
For further information on how we can help organizations with their hosted repository needs, please refer to our website.
Posted by Claire Bundy at 12:15 Comments (0)