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6. Digital Repository Activities in Oxford

The following are examples of digital repository activities underway at Oxford.

Accessing and Storing Knowledge (ASK) Project

The ASK project, led by Oxford University, is developing a suite of open source software artefacts that support learners, researchers and teachers in securely accessing and sharing learning objects. The project is implementing a pilot design pertaining to a repository reference model based on the JISC e-Framework. The project will implement services for metadata management, content management, authentication, and authorisation (Shibboleth). The overall goal of the project is to build interoperability between user agents (e.g. VLEs) and information systems normally under the management of library departments. The ASK project is a direct response to the project partners' institutional requirements to integrate library and learning services.
Responsibility: OUCS (Howard Noble)
Start/End Dates: 1 June 2005 - 31 May 2007
Partners: UHI Millennium Institute; University of Manchester
Funding body: JISC

Bridging the Interoperability Divide Project

The Bridging the Interoperability Divide (BID) project is using a service-oriented approach to build interoperability between three repository systems: SRB (OeRC), Fedora (OULS) and ASK (OUCS). The implementation will help join e-science, academic publishing and learning/ teaching practice communities by creating a joined-up set of repository services. The project will focus on demonstrating interoperability across the federation for the following services: harvesting (OAI), federated search (SRW), authentication (Shibboleth), metadata management (MODS/ METS), identifiers, and discovery (OpenURL). The project will also create a client for authenticated bulk upload (ingest service) into an institutional repository.
Responsibility: OULS (Neil Jefferies)
Start/End Dates: 1 April 2007 – 30 Sept 2008
Partners: OUCS (Michael Fraser/Howard Noble), OeRC (David Wallom)
Funding body: JISC

Complex Archive Ingest for Repository Objects (CAIRO)

The Complex Archive Ingest for Repository Objects (CAIRO) project, led by Oxford University, is developing a tool for ingesting complex collections of born-digital materials, with basic descriptive, preservation and relationship metadata, into a preservation repository. The project is based on needs identified by the JISC-funded Paradigm project (see below) and the Wellcome Library's Digital Curation in Action project. It is a key building block in the partner institutions' strategy to develop digital repository architectures which can support the development of digital collections over the long-term.
Responsibility: OULS (Richard Ovenden)
Start/End Dates: 1 October 2006 - 31 March 2008
Partners: John Rylands University Library, University of Manchester; Wellcome Library
Funding body: JISC

DART-EUROPE

OULS is a development partner in the DART-Europe (Digital Access to Research Theses -- Europe) initiative to explore the creation of a European model for the deposit, discovery, use and long-term care of research theses in an open access environment, led by UCL and Dartington College of Art. The Project is developing a portal through which institutions with existing repositories will be able to expose their theses.
Responsibility: OULS (Michael Popham)
Start/End Dates: Phase 1: June 2005 - Dec 2006; phase 2: 2007-
Partners: Dartington College of Arts (co-lead); University College London (co-lead); Proquest; Dublin City University; DiVA; University of Oxford; Trinity College Dublin.
Funding body: Consortium

Defining Image Access

The Defining Image Access Project is a short six-month requirements-analysis project to investigate what would be required to develop and provide discovery and delivery interoperability for image data held in DSpace, EPrints and Fedora institutional repositories, the three main open-source software systems used within the UK HE/FE sector, using a data web approach.
Responsibility: Department of Zoology (David Shotton)
Start/End Dates: 1 Jan 2007 - 31 July 2007
Partners: Cambridge University; Southampton University; Imperial College London
Funding body: JISC

Integrative Biology Virtual Research Environment

The integrative Biology Virtual Research Environment (IBVRE) Project, funded under the JISC's Virtual Research Environments programme, is using the requirements defined by the EPSRC Integrative Biology project to design and build a large-scale virtual research environment for integrative biology. Based on uPortal, this online collaboration environment will act as a central point of focus for the community and provide a visual gateway to the core IB middleware. An In silico experiment repository will be made available through the VRE portal and will provide an environment where heart modelling experiments can be conducted, stored and retrieved almost entirely through a visual interface without the need to develop complex scripts or use a command line.
Responsibility: Comlab (David Gavaghan, Andrew Simpson); OUCS (Michael Fraser)
Start/End Dates: 1 April 2005 - 31 March 2007
Partners: Integrative Biology consortium
Funding body: JISC

The Mathematical Institute ePrints Archive

The Mathematical Institute runs an eprints archive to make available articles, book sections and other materials published by its members.
Responsibility: Mathematical Institute (N M J Woodhouse)
Start/End Dates: Ongoing
Funding body: Mathematical Institute

OARS -- Open Access Repository System for Forced Migration Online

The OARS project is migrating a fragmented digital repository of scholarly resources, currently managed by two proprietary software systems, to a single open source platform. This repository, based at the Refugee Studies Centre, University of Oxford, is the largest in the world on its subject area of forced migration. It is a unique, widely used and constantly expanding collection of resources. The enhancement of this repository will make it more manageable for those maintaining it, and also make it globally interoperable with other open systems, as well as with the University of Oxford’s institutional repository.
Responsibility: Refugee Studies Centre (Mike Cave)
Start/End Dates:Sept 2007 - Mar 2009
Funding body: JISC

OxCLIC

OxCLIC is an image management project concerned with the practical use of digital images in teaching within the University of Oxford, focusing on slide collections held by the Department of the History of Art and the faculties of Classics, Archaeology and Oriental Studies.
Responsibility: Classics (Charles Crowther); OUCS (Pete Robinson)
Start/End Dates:Jan 2006 - Mar 2007
Funding body: HEFCE E-learning Innovation Fund (Oxford)

Oxford Research Archive

ORA is a secure online archive for research output (e.g. ePrints, conference papers, discussion papers, book chapters, datasets, images) built to be a sustainable mainstream service for the University of Oxford. It will be used to gather together, store, provide access (open access wherever possible), manage and preserve the digital items it contains. The current implementation builds on the previous Oxford ePrints Project.
Responsibility: OULS (Sally Rumsey)
Start/End Dates: Aug 2006 - Aug 2008 (Phase 1)
Funding body: OULS

Oxford Digital Library

Oxford Digital Library (ODL) has established a range of core services to support the creation of digital resources from Oxford University Library Services holdings. ODL projects include the Paradigm and Cairo projects; the Early English Books Online project, and the Oxford-Google Digitization Partnership. The beta-test site provides access to materials digitised through Development Fund projects.
Responsibility: OULS (Michael Popham)
Start/End Dates: Ongoing
Funding body: OULS

OxGrid -- Storage Resource Broker

OxGrid, managed by the Oxford e-Research Centre, is a single entry point for Oxford University researchers to access a combination of shared and dedicated computational resources (including the National Grid Service). The Storage Resource Broker (SRB) supports multiple collections distributed across organisations and file storage systems.
Responsibility: OeRC (David Wallom)
Start/End Dates: Ongoing
Funding body: OeRC

Paradigm Project

The Personal Archives Accessible in Digital Media (paradigm) project sees the major research libraries of the Universities of Oxford and Manchester come together to explore the issues involved in preserving digital private papers through gaining practical experience in accessioning and ingesting digital private papers into digital repositories, and processing these in line with archival and digital preservation requirements. The project is funded until February 2007, under the JISC's programme "Supporting Institutional Digital Preservation and Asset Management".
Responsibility: OULS (Richard Ovenden, Michael Popham)
Start/End Dates: October 2004 - October 2006
Partners: University of Manchester
Funding body: JISC

Research Discovery System (Medical Sciences Division )

The Research Discovery System (RDS) is a joint initiative between the Medical Sciences Division (MSD), Research Technologies Service and the Academic Computing Development Team (ACDT). The system provides summary information about research activities and groups within the Division. It is expected that the RDS will reuse data from the Oxford Research Archive.
Responsibility: Medical Sciences Division (Ann Bowtell); OUCS (Paul Groves)
Start/End Dates: 2004 -
Partners:
Funding body: MSD

Secure Personal Institutional and Inter-Institutional Repository (SPIRE)

The JISC-funded Secure Personal Institutional and Inter-Institutional Repository (SPIRE) Project is led by the Department of Continuing Education and is investigating the feasibility of using Peer-to-Peer (P2P) and informal repositories in learning design.
Responsibility: Department for Continuing Education (David White)
Start/End Dates: 1 June 2005 - 31 March 2007
Partners: Penn State University
Funding body: JISC

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