IRis: Northeastern Universitys Institutional Repository

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IRisNortheastern Universitys Institutional
Repository

• Joan D. Krizack
• 27 Jan 2005
• j.krizack_at_neu.edu

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Presentation Overview

• Deciding to partner with Innovative Interfaces,
  Inc. (III)
• Developing institutional repository software
• DRM Digital Repository Manager

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Context

• Initiated by NU Libraries
• Approach (not software) based on MITs DSpace
• Tailored to NUs institutional culture and the
  Libraries budget

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Project History

• Dean of Libraries attended SPARC conference, Aug
  2002
• Group attended DSpace launch, Nov 2002
• Assigned as priority of the Librarys digital
  initiative, Fall 2002
• Became part of Librarys strategic plan to
  explore establishing an institutional repository,
  Fall 2002

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Institutional Repository Committee

• Mission
• The Institutional Repository Committee is
  charged to explore whether establishing an
  institutional repository for Northeastern
  University is desirable and feasible and, if so,
  to develop a strategy for initiating an
  institutional repository appropriate to
  Northeastern.

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IR CommitteeMission, cont.

• The Committee will
• Investigate other institutional repository
  programs
• Define scope of institutional repository
• Address relationship to the planned records
  management initiative
• Identify key partners within NU

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IR CommitteeMembership

• NU Libraries (9)
• Dean of Libraries
• Systems librarians (3)
• Research and instruction librarians (3)
• Technical services librarian
• Archivist, chair
• Academic Technology Service
• Academic applications specialist
• College of Business Administration
• Professor former executive vice provost

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IR Committee Organization

• Dean of Libraries
• Chair University Archivist and Head, Special
  Collections
• Working Groups
• Policies and Procedures
• Business Plan
• Project Web Site
• Metadata
• Hardware
• Outreach/Marketing

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Topics Explored

• Definition and scope
• Content
• Implementation model
• Technology
• Collection development and management
  guidelines/procedures
• Community engagement / marketing
• Economics
• Organization and staffing
• Strategy

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Topics Explored Definition and Scope

• Options
• Intellectual output of faculty and students
  (thesis) born digital
• Historically significant administrative records
  born digital
• Special collections reborn digital

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Topics Explored Content

• Digital material that is unique to NU and
  significant for future research (scientific,
  historical, etc.), and historically significant
  material that has been reborn in digital format.
• Gray literature and research material
• Curriculum support and teaching material
• Thesis and dissertations
• Published material
• Records documenting the history of NU
• Cultural objects

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Topics Explored Implementation Models

• On whose server(s) will the information be
  located (Library, IS, communities) and who will
  maintain server(s)?
• Distributed
• Semi-distributed
• Not distributed
• Consortium

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Topics Explored Technology

• Software
• Open source and free
• DSpace
• Fedora
• Commercial
• ePrints
• Bepress
• Documentum
• Develop with Innovative Interfaces, Inc.
• Hybrid
• VTLS VITAL
• Hardware

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Topics Explored Collection Development and
Management Guidelines/Procedures

• Community and Collections Definitions and
  Responsibilities
• Community Start-Up Procedure
• Content Guidelines
• Privacy Statement
• Submissions and Distribution Agreement
• Workflow

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Topics Explored Community Engagement and
Marketing

• Project Web site www.lib.neu.edu/iris
• Information packet for early adopters (vision,
  information sheet, digital records suitable for
  IR, articles by Clifford Lynch and Raym Crow)
• Research and Technology Expo
• Scholarly Communications Breakfast (annual event)
• Promotional material (FAQ, fact sheet, etc. in
  development)
• Cultivating partners (faculty and staff)
• Mention at every opportunity
• Logo (in development)

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Topics Explored Economics

• Start-up costs
• Continuing costs
• Fee for service (core service/premium service)
• Cost recovery (communities pay 100 of costs)

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Topics Explored Strategy

• Decision to work with Innovative Interfaces, Inc.
• Development of system attributes
• Formal agreement reached
• Prototype promised in six months

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Decision Develop Product with Innovative
Interfaces, Inc.

• NU doesnt have the resources to develop and
  maintain open source solutions.
• Dont have staff to set up and manage software
  without technical support
• Dont have the staff to program enhancements and
  new features
• Can find money for software more readily than
  for staff
• Liked idea of developing software with our
  library systems vendor

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Topics Explored Organization and Staffing

• Project Head Dean of Libraries
• Project Manager/Technology Digital Systems
  Specialist
• Project Manager/Operations and Services
  University Archivist
• IR Steering Committee former IR Committee
  members (meets monthly)
• Technology Subcommittee (meets weekly and
  teleconferences weekly with III)
• Planning Subcommittee (meets biweekly)
• Advisory Committee faculty and staff

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Decision Downside

• You cant always get what you want, but if you
  try sometimes you might find you get what you
  need.
• Not participating in open source movement
• Java-based client software for staff interface

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DRM Digital Repository Manager

• Prototype delivered 17 Jan 2005
• Beta testing scheduled for June 2005
• Operational Jan 2006

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DRM Functions

• Collect
• Describe
• Index
• Search
• Interoperable
• Manage
• Store and preserve

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DRM Functions Collect

• Java-based staff interface
• For super-users who can manage all
• communities and collections
• Web-based submission interface (coming soon)

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DRM Functions Describe

• Initial development
• 1 digital object per metadata record
• Qualified Dublin Core
• Future developments (by Jan 2006)
• Multiple objects per metadata record
• Additional metadata formats, such as METS

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DRM Functions Index

• Indexes Dublin Core fields for retrieval
• Will incorporate METS format
• Will provide full text indexing of digital
  objects

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DRM Functions Search

• Web-based public interface
• Targeted searching
• Combined search of NUs OPAC and IRis via
  MetaFind (federated search engine)
• Just IRis
• Specific community within IRis
• Specific fields, document types, etc.
• Keyword, including full text
• Browsing IRis structure
• Provide controlled access to certain documents
  (to respect embargo periods)

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DRM Functions Interoperability

• Open access
• CNRI Handle System integration for unique and
  persistent identification
• Standardized metadata format (Dublin Core then
  METS)
• Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata
  Harvesting (OAI-PMH) (federated searching)

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DRM Functions Manage

• Manage logins and authorizations
• Withdraw content (according to IRis policy)
• Generate reports
• Restrict access to certain objects (embargo
  periods)

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DRM Functions Store and Preserve

• Uses CNRI Handle System integration for unique
  and persistent identification
• Uses either Innovative DBMS or Oracle
• Digital objects exported in same format in which
  they were submitted
• Store metadata in XML
• Reliable backup functionality
• Commitment to long term preservation via
  migration or other means

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Next Steps

• Software testing and development
• Marketing plan
• Content identification