Blurring the boundaries between an institutional repository and a research information registry: where's the join?

Key motivations for provision of an institutional repository (IR) for research outputs within a higher education institution (HEI) are storage, retention, dissemination and preservation of digital research materials. Increasingly IRs are being considered as tools for research management as part of pan-institutional systems. This might include statutory reporting such as that required for the forthcoming UK REF (Research Excellence Framework). Such functionality generally requires integration with other management systems within the HEI. It is common to find that each research management system has been selected to serve a specific need within an organisational department, any broader aim being out of scope. As a result, data is held in many silos, is duplicated and can even be "locked in" to those systems. This results in problems with data sharing, as well as lacks of efficiency and consistency. Some institutions are addressing this problem by considering CRISs (Current Research Information Systems) or business intelligence systems. The need for easy deposit in the institutional repository at the University of Oxford has prompted the development of a registry and tools to support research information management. Many of the motivations behind the repository are common with those for research information management. Not only do the two areas of focus have many common aims, but there is considerable overlap of design, data, services, and stakeholder requirements. This overlap means that the boundaries between the repository and the resulting tools being implemented for publicly available research activity data are blurred. By considering these two areas together with other related digital repository services, new opportunities and efficiencies can be revealed to the benefit of all stakeholders

Reviewing the Rights Retention Strategy - a pathway to wider Open Access?

Launched in 2021 by cOAlition S (an international consortium of research funders) the Rights Retention Strategy (RRS) aims to ensure that researchers funded by these organisations retain the rights to their work. Reflecting on the implementation of the strategy a year after its launch, cOAlition S Ambassador Sally Rumsey, outlines the aims of the RRS its success to date and the potential for the wider application of the RRS across other institutions

Challenges in Building an Institutional Research Data Catalogue

The University of Oxford is preparing systems and services to enable members of the university to manage research data produced by its scholars. Much of the work has been carried out under the Jisc-funded Damaro project. This project draws together existing nascent services, adds new systems and services to ‘fill the gaps’ and provides a wide-ranging infrastructure. Development comprises four parallel strands: endorsement of a university research data management policy; training and guidance in research data management; technical infrastructure; and future sustainability. A key element of the technical infrastructure is DataFinder, a catalogue of Oxford research data outputs. DataFinder’s core purposes are to record the existence of Oxford datasets, enable their discovery, and provide details of their location. DataFinder will record metadata about Oxford research data, irrespective of location, discipline or format, and is viewed by the university as a crucial hub for the university’s Research Data Management (RDM) infrastructure

Watch out, it's behind you: publishers' tactics and the challenge they pose for librarians

This presentation to the libraries@cambridge conference held on the 7th January 2016 describes some of the more surprising activities academic publishers are engaged in and discusses the opportunities and threats these pose for the library community. Prepared and presented by Sally Rumsey Head of Scholarly Communications & RDM, Bodleian Libraries, Oxford University and Dr Danny Kingsley Head of Scholarly Communication, Cambridge University Libraries

Rights retention and repositories : accelerating global progress

In the last couple of years in the UK there's been a not so quiet revolution in the adoption of institutional Rights Retention Policies (IRRPs) which has been gathering momentum. There are now 26 institutions with IRRPs now in place, with more planned. While Rights Retention is not new, it was pioneered in 2008 at Harvard, in the UK however, 2023 felt like a tipping point with statements and policies released at institutional, regional and national levels. The Rights Retention revolution is here. Authors rights are at the heart of the scholarly dissemination process. With the support, and leadership of research libraries we can ensure academia’s control of original copyrights becomes the new norm, enabling and protecting free and open access to research for the public good. How can our institutional repositories be best placed to support this new norm? The panel will explore the role that Institutional repositories (and their supporting infrastructure and services) can play in supporting Rights Retention, and in turn empowering authors and accelerating global scholarship

Salience and valence of appearance in a population with a visible difference of appearance: Direct and moderated relationships with self-consciousness, anxiety and depression

Psychometric measures of appearance salience and valence, CARSAL and CARVAL, have been previously demonstrated to be key factors underpinning appearance related self-consciousness and negative affect in the general population. However, the extent to which the scales are appropriate for people with a visibly different appearance has not previously been reported. Neither has the moderating effect of appearance salience (CARSAL) on the relationship between appearance valence (CARVAL) and appearance self-consciousness, previously shown in a general population sample, been replicated with people who are visibly different. Twelve hundred and sixty five participants with a visible difference in either secondary care (n = 651) or the community (n = 614) provided data. Analysis confirmed the psychometric qualities of both CARSAL and CARVAL, and the conceptual independence of each scale. The scales also demonstrated independent and interdependent relationships with social anxiety and avoidance in relation to appearance, depression and anxiety. Appearance salience moderated the relationship with valence on these psychosocial measures. In summary, this paper corroborates the use of CARSAL and CARVAL with both visibly different and general adult populations for the measurement of appearance salience and valence. © 2014 Moss et al

Exam papers on-demand

The Exam Papers On-demand Project comprised 1) research into the feasibility of electronic provision of University of Surrey past exam papers and 2) the subsequent development of a scalable and sustainable system for allowing Internet access to past exam papers by members of the University. Although this has been achieved at other institutions, the solution at the University of Surrey is believed to be innovative in a number of ways. The achievements include the compliance with the Dublin Core metadata standard and the design of a generic system that could be used in the future for additional learning and teachin

The purpose of institutional repositories in UK higher education : a repository manager's view

Open access publications may be a means of increasing availability of scholarly materials. However, there are other drivers which prompt HE institutions to spend staff time and investment on developing IRs. If the publishing arguments are put to one side, there is a separate and strong case for developing an IR which is justified by a library's functions of collecting, managing and curating materials