SWAT Team Charge

Owned by David Walker
Last updated: Nov 05, 2018
2 min read

COLD and the Chancellor’s Office are interested in reexamining the requirements and resources needed to support the ScholarWorks project.  In particular, we are interested in examining the possibility of a single, system-wide institutional repository rather than separate campus institutional repositories, as we have today.  This has the potential to significantly reduce the technical requirements for the ScholarWorks project, as it would allow us to shift our resources from implementing and maintaining 23 instances to just one.

As envisioned, the system-wide institutional repository would include scholarly output (e.g., ETDs, faculty publications, data sets, etc.) from all campuses, while a second, centrally-hosted system would likely be needed for digitized special collections.

Questions we'd like the task force to answer:

  • What are campuses spending now on staffing, systems?
  • What would we gain and lose by implementing a single institutional repository?
  • What would we gain and lose by implementing a single digital library for digitized special collections?
  • With regard to an IR or digital library, how important is local branding and institutional identity to each campus?
  • What features are the highest priority for an IR?
  • What features are the highest priority for a digital library?
  • What ancillary systems (e.g., for faculty profiles, journal publishing, exhibits, etc.) are the highest priority?

The task force should consult any previous reports from STIM and the ScholarWorks Advisory Group relevant to these issues, as well as gather current feedback on these issues from all 23 campuses through a survey or another method deemed most appropriate.

Additionally, we would like the task force to answer these questions:

  • What other consortia have a centrally-hosted IR or digital library?
  • What kind of staffing do they have for their IR or digital library?
  • What resources (staffing, money) do member institutions in other consortia contribute to the centrally-hosted IR or digital library?
  • How well does this function for them?  Do they have any plans to change their model?

The task force should conduct an environmental scan of other consortia and university systems to answer these questions.

The task force will need to provide an update on its progress at the December COLD meeting and provide a final recommendation at the February COLD meeting.