Community-Driven Projects - Fashioning the Policy and Best Practices Framework for a Successful Shared Institutional Repository

Project Name: Fashioning the Policy and Best Practices Framework for a Successful Shared Institutional Repository
Project Lead: Kathryn J. Monday, Vice-President for Information Services, University of Richmond
Key Collaborators:

• Carleton College, Sam Demas, College Librarian
• Trinity University, Diane Graves, University Librarian
• St. Lawrence University, Bart Harloe, University Librarian
• Grinnell College, Richard Fyffe, Librarian of the College

Summary: This project seeks to implement two programs that will result in working policies and practices on the following essential pre-requisites to implementing a successful shared repository:

1. Collection focus: Defining the purpose of the repository including, what content will be included and excluded and a vision statement for the repository. Guidelines for submission of content and options for configuring local intake workflows. To a considerable degree, decisions about collection definition will drive site organization and access control decisions.
2. Site organization: developing a logical architecture at the community (top, or shared repository level) and at the institutional or sub-community level in a manner that will support an evolving repository and facilitate future migration to another IR platform. A related task is to develop metadata standards and practices to ensure effective search across the shared repository.
3. Access controls: identify needs and options for restricting granularity of access with respect to content and to readers. Which decisions need to be made at the repository level and which at the institutional level?

Key audience: Librarians, academic technologists, faculty, and institutional research staff.
Intended outcomes: The key outcome is the potential to turn a shared implementation of DSpace into a viable shared repository. The programs proposed here are critical to the success of this venture in actually cohering a useful shared repository. We are building a foundation to demonstrate the benefits of IR technology in a liberal arts setting, and to realize the promise of a collaborative approach to developing institutional repositories.
Project timeline: Both programs would take place before July 2008. It is likely we would conduct the first program in January and the second in March or April. The polices and practices resulting from these programs would be promulgated within and beyond the NITLE community by July 2008.