IFLA Repository

Introduction

As part of its Digital Content Programme, IFLA intends to host a portal for information exchange on issues critical to the practice of librarianship in the digital age. This portal will include a repository collecting together IFLA’s own publications for ease of location, search, display and preservation.

IFLA publications include papers presented at the IFLA World Library and Information Congress, Professional Reports, Guidelines, Manifestos, Newsletters, etc. They are currently published on the web in different locations.

At its August 2011 meeting, the IFLA Governing Board set up a Repository Working Group to establish an IFLA repository. The first contents to be uploaded will be the papers for the 2013 IFLA World Library and Information Congress (some 500 papers).

Composition of the Repository Working Group

Chair: Genevieve Clavel-Merrin, Switzerland;
Members:

Mike Heaney, UK (IFLA Governing Board Member 2007-2011);
Felipe Martínez, Mexico;
Buhle Mbambo-Thata, South Africa;
Donna Scheeder, USA;
Anna Maria Tammaro, Italy;
Simon Lemstra, IFLA HQ Web and IT Manager;
Joanne Yeomans, IFLA HQ, Professional Support Officer.

The Working Group will also invite input from relevant IFLA units during its investigations.

Mandate

The working group is taking up the recommendations accepted by the Governing Board from the IFLA Publications Review 2011:

IFLA should seek to establish the resources required to accomplish a switch to an IFLA-branded electronic repository as the primary method of dissemination, and bring forward proposals to realise this aim.
For all except the publications with current contractual publishing agreements, direct web publishing using an Open-Access model based on an IFLA-branded electronic repository should be the primary method of dissemination for publications.

Key priorities 2012

Identify possible option(s) for repository software, hosted by an external partner;
Metadata requirements and licensing options for conference papers;
Workflow for upload of conference papers;
Issues relating to upload of older documents;
Final recommendation to the Governing Board in December 2012 with the goal to first ingest the conference papers of the 2013 conference (starting early 2013).

The Repository Working Group will meet three times during the Governing Board meeting weeks and more regularly via Skype.

Completion of the work in 2013

The recommendation to contract ECS Partners Limited, EPrints Services, was submitted to the Governing Board in December 2012 and approved. Work was scheduled to begin in early 2013 following the signing of the contracts. The Working Group and its Chair remain available for advice during the build process which will be managed by IFLA HQ staff.

See: Further news about the repository development.

Contact: Joanne Yeomans