Utrecht, The Netherlands, January 16 2008
Improved Access to Research Outputs
The access via the internet to research outputs such as scientific
publications and student theses is getting better and easier due to improved
retrieval via digital repositories, especially designed databases. The number
of universities and research institutions that use repositories to disperse
their research outputs is growing steadily. By 2006, more than 230 European
institutions owned a repository, as is shown in the study 'The European
Repository Landscape', by Maurits van der Graaf and Kwame van
Eijndhoven.
The EC-funded DRIVER project is leading the way as the largest initiative of
its kind in helping to enhance repository development worldwide. Its main
objective is to build a virtual, European scale network of existing
institutional repositories using technology that will manage the physically
distributed repositories as one large scale virtual content source. As part of
the DRIVER project, three strategic and coordinated studies have been
conducted on digital repositories and related services. They are aimed at
repository managers, content providers, research institutions and decision
makers - all key stakeholders who are taking an active part in the creation of
the digital repository infrastructure for e-research and e-learning.
SURffoundation is the Dutch partner in the DRIVER project, and responsible
for
the publication of the studies. The studies are published on the 16th of
January 2008 together with Amsterdam University Press.
The 'European Repository Landscape' is a study on different aspects of the
European repository infrastructure. The study presents a complete inventory
of
the state of digital repositories in the 27 countries of the European Union
and provides a basis to contemplate the next steps in driving forward an
interoperable infrastructure at a European level.
A key question in the development of institutional repositories is how to make
a digital repository and related services work for an institution. This
question is addressed in the study 'A DRIVER's Guide to Repositories', edited
by Kasja Weenink, Leo Waaijers and Karen van Godtsenhoven. It focuses on
five
issues which are essential to the establishment, development or sustainability
of a digital repository. These are covered by the contribution of Alma Swan
(Key Perspectives Ltd.) who provides guidelines that are significant to
business modeling for digital repositories and related services; Wilma
Mossink (SURF) who addresses Intellectual Property Rights issues; Vanessa
Proudman (Tilburg University) who offers insight into the populating of
repositories; and Rene van Horik (DANS, Data archiving networked systems)
and
Barbara Sierman (KB, National Library of the Netherlands) who address
issues
concerning data curation and long term preservation. Good practices and
lessons learned will assist stakeholders in both the day-to-day issues and
long-term challenges. This edited study focuses on inter- and transnational
approaches which go beyond local interests.
The 'Investigative Study of Standards for Digital Repositories and Related
Services' by Muriel Foulonneau and Francis Andre (CNRS-ISTI) reviews the
current standards, protocols and applications in the domain of digital
repositories. The authors also explore possible future issues - that is to
say, which steps need to be taken now in order to comply with future
demands.
For more information and free accessible downloads of the studies, please see:
http://www.driver-support.eu/en/studies.html
E-mail: communicatie@surf.nl
OpenDOAR Email Distribution Service
http://opendoar.org/tools/emailservice.html
Bozena Bednarek-Michalska
Biblioteka Glowna UMK
87-100 Torun
tel. (48-56) 61 14 417
Fax.: (48-56) 65 204 19
b.michalska@bu.uni.torun.pl
|
