EPrints Community: what it is and what we do

1
EPrints Community what it is and what we do
Steve Hitchcock EPrints Community Manager For
EPrints Training, 17-18 July 2006, Southampton
2
About the Community (official)

• http//www.eprints.org/community/

3
Why a Community?

• For many institutions using EPrints, where
  EPrints is increasingly embedded in institutional
  policy, workflow and practices, the demands are
  too great to leave support to chance.
• EPrints Community is a first step towards
  formalising and addressing that need, by giving
  members forums to influence the development of
  EPrints, to obtain critical and timely
  information, and to interact with each other.
• The idea came from a meeting of EPrints users
  Putting Eprints Software into the User Community,
  June 2004 http//opcit.eprints.org/jisc-eprints-us
  er/

4
The three Is

• Influence on EPrints development
• Information that affects repositories
• Interact sharing ideas, experience with other
  Community members

5
Community services

• Influence
• TRAC
• Survey
• Information
• Insiders Mail list and list archive
• EPrints Insiders Blog http//www.eprints.org/commu
  nity/blog/
• Newsletter
• Interact
• wiki http//wiki.eprints.org/w/Main_Page
• Scripts, patches http//files.eprints.org/
• exclusive to members

6
Members

• EEMCS, University of Twente    
• University of Leeds/White Rose Consortium
• National University of Ireland at Maynooth
• Organic Eprints, Denmark
• SLU, Sweden
• Rhodes University, South Africa
• University of Pittsburgh, USA
• Southampton University
• UQAM, Montreal, Canada
• DLIST (based in Arizona, USA)
• E-LIS (based in Italy)
• DLR (German Aerospace Center)
• Open University

7
Progress

• Promote and build membership
• Introduce services
• Evaluate services with member feedback
• Facilitate interaction between members
• Formulate Community governance
• Formally launched in 4Q 2005, essentially we are
  now at 3 (although 1 will be ongoing for some
  time), hopefully picking up pace as we move
  towards 4 and, eventually, 5. Feedback for 3 was
  initiated with the member survey.

8
Helping to keep EPrints free

• Its great that software is free, but serious
  users share the responsibility for maintaining
  that status.
• We are preparing for when funding streams from
  generous sponsors run out, by identifying new
  income streams that will support and enhance the
  free software.
• Any community is as strong as its members make
  it. If you value EPrints, please join the
  Community.