29 June 2006
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In this issue...
Welcome to the first Open Repository Newsletter
Open Repository is a service that builds and maintains institutional repositories on behalf of an institution and is built using the latest DSpace technology. The aim of our quarterly newsletter is to provide regular updates of Open Repository developments and upgrades, and also progress within DSpace generally. The newsletter will also offer information on wider developments relevant to institutional repositories, plus conference and promotional news.
We hope you find the newsletter interesting and welcome your comments and feedback.
Trying before you buy - Pilot Repositories
Deciding how to build and host an institutional repository and who to partner with can be a major challenge for institutions, which is why Open Repository offers a FREE 3-month personalized pilot repository so users can test out the suitability for themselves.
There is no obligation to purchase when taking a pilot repository; the purpose is simply to help end users understand how a repository works in practice and enables administrators to make informed decisions about their repository needs.
If you are interested in taking out a pilot repository, send an email to info@openrepository.com or alternatively contact your sales representative.
Live Open Repositories
Open Repository is pleased to announce the launch of several new repositories this year, including:
Manchester Metropolitan University
General Teaching Council for Northern Ireland
University of Wolverhampton
Landspitali (University Hospital of Iceland)
University of Zurich
Solveig Thorsteinsdottir, Director of Divison of Library and Information Services, explains why Landspitali chose BioMed Central's Open Repository service:
"Landspitali chose BioMed Central's Open Repository service to be able to concentrate on administrating the site, collecting the data and gaining support from the hospital staff without having to worry about technical issues. Furthermore the value-added features provided by BioMed Central, in addition to the standard DSpace functionality, such as a submission form using PubMed ID and external linking to Entrez databases, makes BioMed Central's Open Repository a very viable choice for an academic health sciences institution."
In addition to this, Open Repository has continued to provide pilot repositories for those interested in discovering more of what the service has to offer. Recent pilot repositories have included: Norvartis, University of Huddersfield, RIVM ( Netherlands Institute for Public Health and the Environment Rijksinstituut voor Volksgezondheid en Milieu) and ETBM (Electronic treatises in biology and medicine).
NEW Open Repository and DSpace features
We are delighted to announce the following new features to our Open Repository service:
- PDF conversion - PDF conversion has been added to the submission process, it is now possible to convert word files into PDFs at a click of a button during the submission process.
- Quick submission - Submitting items into a repository has been made even
easier with improvements to the quick submission system. Users can enter the PubMed ID or publisher's DOI
of their item and the system will search all of
Cross-Ref and auto-fill the submission fields with the item's details. - Searching and Browsing - Upgrades have been made to Open Repository resulting in quicker searching and browsing for users of the repository.
- Data feeds - Metadata from all PubMed Central open access articles that have been published by your institution can now be fed directly into your repository.
- External linking to Entrez databases - There is now an option to add Entrez database IDs during the submission process. This will enable the item page in the repository to link through to the relevant Entrez entry.
We have recently added the following DSpace features to Open Repository:
- SFX linking - Simple SFX linking is now available from within the repository.
- Statistics - A repository statistics page is now available within the administration site.
Forthcoming feature developments
Development work on Open Repository and DSpace is ongoing and as such the service that Open Repository offers will only continue to grow.
We expect the following developments to be released before the end of this year*:
Open Repository:
- Stored searches - Users will be able to stay up to date on new repository items based on search terms with email alerts or RSS feeds.
- Importing from Endnote - Users will be able to import individual Endnote library files as items within their Open Repository archive. Full text files can be added at a later stage.
- Export of metadata into reference management tools - It will be possible to download stored search results into reference management tools (e.g. Endnote, RefWorks, RefMan etc).
- Non-Latin 1 foreign character support and display - Open Repository will be able to display pictographic alphabets such as Chinese, Korean and Arabic.
DSpace:
- RSS feeds - RSS feeds will be available to alert for new content within specified collections.
- Improved statistics features - A more detailed and customizable statistics package will become available.
*Release dates will be announced separately and the schedule may possibly change. Therefore we cannot guarantee that all these features will be available by the end of 2006.
Conferences
This year Open Repository was pleased to exhibit and sponsor the annual DSpace User Group Meeting that took place in Bergen in April but we will also have a presence at the following upcoming shows in the coming months:
IIMK-INDEST/AICTE Workshop on IRs: Whilst not exhibiting, Open Repository will provide a presentation and promotional material for the Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode and the INDEST/AICTE Consortium joint workshop on Institutional Rpeositories.
EAHIL: BioMed Central is exhibiting at the bi-annual European Conference of Medical and Health Libraries in Romania in September, demonstrations and information on Open Repository will be provided at the BioMed Central booth.
If you know of a meeting that you think that Open Repository should be present at, please do let us know.
Sales Representatives
If you have any questions about Open Repository, please contact your sales representative:
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Eastern and Southern United States and Italy Maria Romano Phone: +44 (0) 20 7631 9971 E-mail: maria.romano@biomedcentral.com |
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Western & Central United States, Caribbean, Germany, Austria, UK and Ireland Dominic Tate Phone: +44 (0) 20 7631 9947 E-mail: dominic.tate@biomedcentral.com |
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EMEA, Asia-Pacific and Canada Marianne Josserand Phone: +44 (0) 20 7631 9990 E-mail: marianne@biomedcentral.com |