Purpose-driven Digital Repositories at HKUST Samson Soong, Ph.D. University Librarian The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology July 20, 2007

Purpose-driven Digital Repositories at HKUST

Samson Soong, Ph.D.University Librarian

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

July 20, 2007

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香港科技大學圖書館

Outline of the Presentation

1. HKUST and Digital Initiatives of the HKUST Library

2. Two Purpose-driven Repositories: IR and UA3. Similarities between Two Repositories4. Different Management Issues and Challenges5. Sustainability and Reliability of Digital Repositories

6. Conclusions

(Questions and Answers)

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The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST)

- Founded in 1991- Student body: about 9,000- Teaching Faculty: 450- UG and PG degree programs: over 100, including 25 doctoral - Research funding: HK$240 million

University Ranking in 2006:* Ranked the 60th in the world by Newsweek International* Ranked the 17th in Technology in the world by THES (London)* EMBA program ranked the 3rd in the world by London Financial Times* MBA program ranked the 1st in Asia by EIU of the Economist

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Digital initiatives of the HKUST Library

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1991 Implemented the first online library catalog in Hong Kong with

full Chinese capability

1991 Set up the first large-scale campus-wide CD-ROM network in an Asian academic library

1993 Designed and implemented the first course reserve full-text image management system in Asia.

1995 First library web server in Hong Kong

1997-2000 Managed a regional mirror site for the Ovid database system

Digital initiatives of the HKUST Library (Cont.)

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1997-2001 Participated in a consultancy service for the Open University of Hong Kong’s Electronic Library Project

2001 Implemented the first native XML-based digital library system in Hong Kong

2002 Developed an XML Name Access Control Repository System as a global prototype

2003 Established the first digital institutional repository in Hong Kong

2004 Implemented the first Web-based digital university archives in Hong Kong

2007 Developed HKIR which permits cross searching of institutional repositories in Hong Kong

Two Purpose-driven Repositories: IR and UA

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Digital Institutional Repository (IR):

Created in May 2003, the HKUST Digital Institutional Repository collects, makes available, and preserves the scholarly

output of the University community in digital format. http://repository.ust.hk/dspace/

Digital University Archives (UA):

As the digital institutional memory for the University, the HKUST Digital University Archives is the official online repository for university records that have permanent value.

http://archives.ust.hk/dspace/

Digital Institutional Repository

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Digital University Archives

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Similarities between Two Repositories

• Powered by the open-source software DSpace, both the Digital UA and the IR systems required modification and enhancements

• Both repositories are institution-based university-wide systems (not departmental or subject-oriented as other repositories can be)

• Both repositories contain only full-text documents or publications (unlike other so-called repositories which merely provide abstracts, citations, or links to other databases or licensed information resources)

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Similarities between Two Repositories (Cont.)

• Both the IR and the Digital UA are meant to be permanent, to be maintained for the long term

• Both repositories require established policies for

archiving, retaining, withdrawing, etc. in order to regulate their activities and to meet their intended objectives

• Both repositories can be accessed remotely from

anywhere in the world

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Different Management Issues and Challenges

A. Clear Vision of Content

The IR is an open access repository of HKUST scholarly output. It is not intended for open access publishing, nor does it exist to provide a way to bypass peer-review of a referred publication process. The IR is a means to make HKUST research results freely and effectively available online to the global research community.

The Digital University Archives is a repository of administrative and historical records of the University, as well as various publications and items documenting important events and activities relating to the University.

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Different Management Issues and Challenges (Cont.)

B. Organizing Principles

Documents in the IR are organized by “communities” based on the academic departments or research groups at the University.

The materials in the digital UA are organized by “record groups” and “record series” based on the originating administrative and academic units of the University, following the traditional archival principal of provenance.

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Communities in the IRAccounting Advanced Engineering Materials Facility Applied Technology Center Atmospheric, Marine and Coastal Environment Program Biochemistry Bioengineering Biology Biotechnology Research Institute Center for Coastal and Atmospheric Research Center for Economic Development Center for Enhanced Learning and Teaching Center for Scientific Computation Center for Wireless Information Technology Centre for Display Research Chemical Engineering Chemistry Civil Engineering College of Lifelong Learning (CL3) Computer Science and Engineering Cyberspace Center Economics

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http://repository.ust.hk/dspace/handle/1783.1/481





















Communities in the IR (Cont.)Electronic & Computer Engineering Finance Hang Lung Center for Organizational Research Humanities Human Language Technology Center Industrial Engineering and Logistics Management Information and System Management Institute for the Environment Institute of Nano Science and Technology Language Center Library Management of Organizations Marketing Materials Characterization and Preparation Facility MathematicsMechanical Engineering Molecular Neuroscience Center Office of the President Physics Research Centre Social Science

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Record Groups in the UAThe University Archives has been organized into following record groups, the contents of which are described in the archival inventories for each group.

Records Relating to the Planning and Construction of HKUSTCampus Construction Site Office (RG 1.2) Planning Committee for HKUST (RG 1.1)

University CouncilUniversity Council (RG 2)

Office of the PresidentOffice of the President (RG 3) Planning and Coordination Office (RG 3.9) Public Affairs Office (RG 3.2) University Administrative Committee (RG 3.6) University Cabinet (RG 3.7)

University CourtUniversity Court (RG 4)

University SenateUniversity Senate (RG 5)

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http://library.ust.hk/archives/arch-guide.html#rg

http://library.ust.hk/ead/rg1.2.html


http://library.ust.hk/ead/rg2.html







Record Groups in the UA (Cont.)Office of the Vice-President for Academic Affairs

Office of the Vice-President for Academic Affairs (RG 6.1) Office of the Dean of Science (RG 6.2.1)

Department of Biochemistry (RG 6.2.2) Department of Biology (RG 6.2.3) Department of Chemistry (RG 6.2.4) Department of Mathematics (RG 6.2.5) Department of Physics (RG 6.2.6) Biotechnology Research Institute (RG 6.2.7)

Office of the Dean of Engineering (RG 6.3.1) Department of Chemical Engineering (RG 6.3.2) Department of Civil Engineering (RG 6.3.4) Department of Computer Science and Engineering (RG 6.3.5) Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering (RG 6.3.3) Department of Industrial Engineering and Logistics Management (RG 6.3.6) Department of Mechanical Engineering (RG 6.3.7) Computer Aided Design and Manufacturing Facility (RG 6.3.9)

Office of the Dean of Business and Management (RG 6.4.1) Department of Accounting (RG 6.4.2) Department of Business Information System (RG 6.4.3) Department of Economics (RG 6.4.4) Department of Finance (RG 6.4.5) Department of Information and Systems Management (RG 6.4.6) Department of Management of Organizations (RG 6.4.7) Department of Marketing (RG 6.4.8)

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Record Groups in the UA (Cont.)Office of the Dean of Humanities & Social Science (RG 6.5.1)

Division of Humanities (RG 6.5.2) Division of Social Science (RG 6.5.3)

Center for Enhanced Learning & Teaching (RG 6.12) Information Technology Services Center (RG 6.13) Language Center (RG 6.7) Library (RG 6.11) Publishing Technology Center (RG 6.14)

Office of the Vice-President for Administration and BusinessOffice of the Vice-President for Administration and Business (RG 7.1) Admission, Registration and Records Office (RG 7.2) Campus Services Office (RG 7.8) Court, Council, and Senate Secretariat (RG 7.5) Estates Management Office (RG 7.3) Finance Office (RG 7.4) Personnel Office (RG 7.6) Purchasing Office (RG 7.7) Safety and Environmental Protection (RG 7.9) Student Affairs Office (RG 7.10)

Office of the Vice-President for Research and DevelopmentOffice of the Vice-President for Research and Development (RG 8.1) Office of Contract and Grant Administration (RG 8.2)

Central Research FacilitiesNanoelectronic Fabrication Facility (RG 8.17)

Institutes and CentersInstitute for Advanced Study (RG 8.15)

Staff OrganizationsHKUST Social Club (RG 9.1) HKUST Staff Association (RG 9.3) University Women's Group (RG 9.2)

Student OrganizationsStudents' Union (RG 10.1)

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C. Access vs. Security & Choosing the Right Software

A major challenge for digital repositories managers is how to control access to information that may be sensitive or restricted by copyright or regulations. One of the reasons HKUST Library chose DSpace was because we could modify the software when added access control was necessary.

By using the DSpace system, which is OAI-PMH compliant, the library can expose Dublin Core metadata for every document or item in its DSpace-based repository. OAI compliance allows the archived articles and documents in digital repositories discovered easily by web search engines, digital discovery services, and indexing tools. OAI compliance, however, is important for the IR but not for the UA due to the difference in their content and purposes.

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D. Collection Development (Inclusion & Exclusion)

The IR includes whatever has been submitted by HKUST scholars and researchers.

In contrast, the Library does not digitize all

items submitted to the University Archives. The chief priority for the digital UA is to digitize the most frequently sought university publications and documents.

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E. Content Recruitment

HKUST scholars or authors submit documents to the IR voluntarily; but this “voluntary” submission needs to be qualified. At this stage, many submissions are proxy submissions in which the Library staff obtain permission from scholars and do the submissions on their behalf.

Submission to the Digital UA has become customary with many university administrative offices after our initial requests.

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F. Permission

Library staff members need to obtain permission from the authors in order to place their documents in the IR. On the submission form, the scholar is asked to indicate that he or she agrees to a non-exclusive distribution license.

In contrast, no special permission is required for public access to the University publications and other non-restricted materials in the UA. However, access to the administrative records in the Digital UA is governed and limited by university regulations.

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G. Growth Rate

Presently, there is a considerable difference in the database growth rate of these two repositories. The IR has grown and continues to grow more slowly than the Digital UA. This is partially a result of laws and customs relating to intellectual property.

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Sustainability and Reliability of Digital Repositories

Digital repositories of scholarly and other important digital content will come to act as “trusted repositories” to ensure reliable access to their content over time.

Digital repository developers should also consider the associated administrative responsibility, long-term retention and sustainability, technological suitability, system security, and procedural accountability.

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Conclusions1. Digital repositories take shape in a variety of

experimental forms and represent new ways of organizing information. They vary in the types of content, in their intended purposes, as well as in their relationship to content creators and users.

Despite these differences, the development and promotion of digital repositories will continue librarians’ time-honored labor/duty of acquiring, organizing, and making available the resources needed by our users.

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Conclusions

2. Although digital repositories may be implemented and maintained by the library, we should not view them narrowly as “library projects”. To help a repository reach full potential, librarians need to collaborate actively with faculty, researchers, and other staff in administrative departments at our institutions to help disseminate their scholarly output or materials emanating from various units (if such information is to be made accessible).

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Conclusions

3. Digital repositories, if properly implemented, can help us expand our information access strategy to support the information needs of our users. A reliable international network of distributed digital repositories will help provide universal electronic access to important and unique information resources at

academic and research institutions.

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Thank you!

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Samson Soong, Ph.D.([email protected])