Version Policies and theOpenDOAR Policies Tool

Peter Millington, University of Nottingham

Version Identification Workshop, London, 22-Apr-2008

Outline

• The importance of policies for OA repositories

• OpenDOAR and policies

• The OpenDOAR Policies Tool

• Versions and the Policies Tool

– Forthcoming upgrades

• Implementation challenges & tips

The Importance of Policies

• They state rules– What people can, cannot, or must do– e.g. Permitted re-use of full texts

• They plan for eventualities– What will happen when …. ?– e.g. Take-down in cases of copyright infringement

• They encourage and set standards– Quality of data– Good administrative practice– e.g. Linking between versions of a document

• They make you think

OpenDOAR

• Directory of Open Access Repositories• http://www.opendoar.org/• Lists over 1,100 repositories worldwide• Searching

– By keyword– By categories – e.g. country, software name, etc

• Several display options– Including full records with repositories’ standardised policies

• Tools for administrators & service providers– Including a Policies Tool

http://www.sherpa.ac.uk/index.html

Availability of Repositories’ Policies

OpenDOAR Policies Tool

• Designed to help you to…

• Define your repository’s policies– according to best current practice

• Create a Policies web page– in 5 easy steps

• Add a Policies page to an EPrints.org archive– in 6 easy steps

• Add policies to your EPrints.org OAI-PMH config– also in 6 easy steps

For the full guide, see the link at the end of this presentation

OpenDOARPolicies Tool

FOR DUMMIES® is a registered trademark of Wiley Publishing, Inc.

Policies Tool Outline• Launch Page

– http://opendoar.org/tools/en/policies.php

• Main Page– Assembly area for generated policies– Buttons for adding/editing individual policies– Output and customisation options

• Individual Policy Forms– Existing OAI policy displayed where available– Radio buttons, checkboxes, picklists, pop-up boxes– Minimum options – achieving OA goals but restricted– Optimum options – refinements for more use or better quality

• Output Options– Plain text or HTML source code for the repository’s web– Source code for EPrints static pages and/or configuration file

http://www.sherpa.ac.uk/index.html

http://www.sherpa.ac.uk/index.html

http://www.sherpa.ac.uk/index.html

http://www.sherpa.ac.uk/index.html

Output Options

• The Policies Tool web output– Just print out and discuss

• HTML source code– To insert into your own web page

• Plain Text– Copy-and-paste into your own documents

• EPrints.org static ‘Policies’ web page– For EPrints versions 2 & 3

• EPrints.org OAI configuration file source code– To let people harvest your policies via OAI-PMH Identify

http://www.sherpa.ac.uk/index.html

Result – OAI-PMH Identify Request

Versions and the Policies Tool

• Content Policies– Permissible versions– Version, peer-review and publication statuses

• Preservation Policy: Version control– Policies on changes, errata and corrigenda– Policies on adding new versions of a deposit– Linking older, newer and latest versions– Change detection facilities

• Forthcoming changes to the Tool– Consulting on changes inspired by VERSIONS & VIF– Implementation expected in 2 – 3 weeks

Content Policy Versions & Statuses

Version Control Policies

Policy Challenges & Tips

• Be real– Don’t just define a policy. Make sure it actually happens.

• Repository Software Issues– Popular packages probably already accommodate…– Version & Status fields - but do they include dates?– Links between older and newer versions

• but can you only deposit newer versions?

• Is the latest version always the default?

• Provide Clear User Guidance– Versions Toolkit – think of non-native English speakers

• Monitor and check submissions

Any Questions

• OpenDOAR Home Page– http://www.opendoar.org/

• Policies Tool Start Page– http://opendoar.org/tools/en/policies.php

• Policies Tool for Dummies– http://opendoar.org/documents/JISC200706PolicyTool.ppt