Targeted action:

A4.1.1 Conduct a national programme of open access repository assessment and alignment to deliver standardised metadata nationally while building and aligning infrastructure according to international best practice. For example, OpenAIRE guidelines, Plan S requirements, and evolving practice.

Mid-term Report Summary: 

Context and Objectives

The National Open Access Repositories project is led by the University of Galway in collaboration with ten institutional partners. The project’s primary goal is to strengthen and align Ireland’s open access (OA) repository network by conducting a comprehensive audit, implementing a standardised approach, and proposing a national roadmap. The emphasis of the project is to address metadata and support issues at the source repository level, promoting interoperability through standard operating procedures and guidelines, and building community while improving technical infrastructure.

Objectives and Outcomes

Aligned with Theme 2 of the NORF National Action Plan—Achieving 100% Open Access to research publications—the project directly contributes to several critical goals, including quality metadata, repository network strengthening, rights retention, bibliodiversity, and preservation. The strategic focus on aligning repositories with a national standard for quality metadata and international best practices positions the Ireland’s network project as an important player in advancing open access in Ireland. Also, by facilitating interoperability, the project aims to create a robust infrastructure for the comprehensive assessment and monitoring of OA across Ireland and beyond while also positioning the network to be able to deal with the next generation of scholarly publishing. In addition, more significant technical and community convergence bring gains in terms of the overall national cost to operate the network.

Project Milestones

The project’s objectives are outlined as follows:

Objective 1: Make Irish repositories interoperable nationally and internationally.

Objective 2: Enhance efficiency and openness in metadata creation and maintenance.

Objective 3: Establish a network for sharing best practices and ensuring compliance.

Building on NORF publications from 2019-2021, especially the Coordinated Support for Open Access Repositories policy brief, the project has achieved significant milestones. This includes the creation and publication of a list of open repositories in Ireland, available at University of Galway Open Repositories Inventory. Additionally, extensive data collection was conducted involved benchmarking, desk reading, national surveys, SWOT analysis, and interviews with repository managers, strategists, and stakeholders.

Progress and Future Plans

The project’s current focus involves finalising a survey to be published on Zenodo by December 2023, encompassing the gathered data. The team plans to deliver the Irish Open Access Repositories Landscape Report in early 2024. This report will include a detailed analysis of collected data and pave the way for an initial roadmap for Irish open access repositories, highlighting standardised metadata requirements. Community engagement remains pivotal, ensuring a collaborative approach to metadata standardisation and receiving crucial feedback during the project and roadmap development. Starting in Q1 2024, the project will focus on community building with the goal of standard metadata and guidelines. The initial focus on the community work will likely be on creating a sustainable community and clarifying the scope and cost of the main metadata issues.

As we move forward, the National Open Access Repositories project aims to be a beacon for advancing open repositories in Ireland. We envision a sustainable and equitable scholarly publishing landscape by addressing critical challenges and implementing strategic solutions, fostering open scholarship and research.