Purpose

The Working Group is charged with answering the questions below and writing a report for the OCUL Directors to facilitate a decision about further exploration in this area. In order to complete its work, the Group will reach out to repository/IR librarians, AULS and other staff within OCUL with substantial experience in repository ingest and policy, metadata, technical infrastructure, and outreach/support with authors. At its earliest convenience, the Group will develop a workplan with timelines to be shared with SPOD.

Questions to be answered: 

1. What is the agreed upon scope of content and formats to be supported, for the purposes of exploring a shared infrastructure project? (for example, is the focus on theses & dissertations and other traditional published scholarly resources of member institutions, or extending to many formats and areas of content like a DAMs?)
2. What is the agreed upon definition of a shared repository infrastructure for the purposes of this investigation?
3. What models (staffing, platform/s, workflows, types of content) are currently being used across OCUL for repository infrastructure?
   • What are short-, medium-, and long-term challenges with these existing models?
   • Are there any unmet needs that can be identified?
4. What shared repository infrastructure models are currently in use by other consortia or groups that OCUL should consider?
   • What motivated these implementations and what purposes do they serve?
   • What types of content is stored in these shared repository infrastructures? How is that content deposited, managed and curated? What policies govern the function of the repository infrastructure as well as the deposit of the content?
   • How do they replace or supplement what individual institutions support? What is the interaction between shared infrastructure and services, versus specific local needs?
   • How have these shared implementations addressed the needs of their member institutions?
5. What options for shared repository infrastructure within OCUL should be in scope for further exploration? 

Membership and Team

• 6-8 people, including AULs who have IR in their portfolio, as well as repository librarians and professionals who understand and have had substantial experience with repository ingest and policy, metadata, technical infrastructure, and outreach/support with authors. Members will be drawn from a wide range of OCUL libraries (small/medium and large);
• Co-chairs of OCUL-SP;
• 2-3 OCUL staff and Scholars Portal Operations Team members

Current Membership

• Dwayne Collins, Trent University
• Kate Davis, Scholars Portal (ex officio)
• Bobby Glushko, Western University
• Krista Godfrey, University of Waterloo
• Daniel Godon, University of Ottawa
• Robin Isard, Algoma University
• Sian Meikle, University of Toronto
• Kaitlin Newson, Scholars Portal (ex officio)
• Mita Williams, University of Windsor

Established 2022