Version Policies and the OpenDOAR 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 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

Availability of Repositories Policies

OpenDOAR Policies Tool Designed to help you to… Define your repositorys 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 OpenDOAR Policies Tool FOR DUMMIES® is a registered trademark of Wiley Publishing, Inc.

Policies Tool Outline Launch Page – 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 repositorys web –Source code for EPrints static pages and/or configuration file

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

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 –Dont 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 – Policies Tool Start Page – Policies Tool for Dummies –