administration & workflow charl roberts university of the witwatersrand [email protected]...

Source: Repositories Support Project (JISC) http://www.rsp.ac.uk

Administration & Workflow

Charl RobertsUniversity of the Witwatersrand

[email protected]


Workflow• A repository workflow is a breakdown of the administrative tasks involved. They allow the

various activities involved in the running of the repository to be assigned to the individuals or groups who are best able to deal with them. The process of defining workflows is closely aligned with a stakeholder analysis of those involved with the repository: once the benefits and issues relevant to each stakeholder group have been identified, the next step is to ask exactly how users are going to interact with the repository software, as well as the specific tasks they are going to complete.

• There are several types of workflow in a typical repository. These include workflows to manage user registration and administration; workflows to manage authorisation and permissions within the repository; and various administrative workflows to allow for maintenance and software updates. However, the most significant workflow focuses on the submissions process. This workflow is crucial as it will be used regularly by a wide variety of depositors.

• It is through understanding the workflows of potential contributors to the repository that you can understand the best points at which deposit of content might happen, and how to make that deposit as easy as possible. For example, the process of an individual academic producing a doctoral thesis in history involves different activities to the process by which a team of researchers collaborate on a paper in experimental physics. The copyright, ownership of data, timescales and publisher involvement will vary, and consequently the potential workflows and interaction with the repository will vary.


Benefits of a good workflow• There are several benefits to creating good submission workflows within the

repository, namely they:• Streamline the deposit process - Comprehensive submission workflows minimise

effort and simultaneously ensure capture of all required information without duplication of effort or heroic measures

• Encourage user deposits - User-friendly submission workflows can encourage academics to deposit more items

• Integrate quality assurance - Building checking stages into workflows allows items or metadata to be double-checked for accuracy and consistency early in the life of the item

• Add value - Workflows can add value to a collection or process for example, by adding subject classification to an object, or by triggering other actions such as submission to publishers or other repositories

• Facilitate administration - Once content starts flowing into the repository sound workflows enable the repository administrator to manage new deposits, track objects through each stage, and address any problems that may arise


Typical tasks in a submission workflow

• Acknowledging newly-submitted items (if this is not done automatically by your software)

• Checking the eligibility of depositors and/or the types of item being deposited

• Verifying, and if necessary querying copyright permissions. For instance, there may be a need to check which version of the item is being deposited i.e. preprint; author's peer-reviewed version; published version

• Validating metadata• Approving the submissions i.e. making them publicly visible• Releasing embargoed full-texts when the relevant period has

expired - if your software does not do this automatically

http://www.jiscinfonet.ac.uk/infokits/repositories/technical-framework/versions

http://www.jiscinfonet.ac.uk/infokits/repositories/technical-framework/handling-embargoes


Simple DSPACE workflow


Planning a submission workflow

A simple submission workflow has three basic elements: metadata; permissions; and file management. The following questions must be addressed to define an effective and comprehensive workflow:• Metadata input

– What metadata is going to be gathered from the authors?– What metadata (if any) will be generated automatically?– What metadata (if any) are administrators or other repository staff going to add to each record?– What are the options for minimising free text fields?

• Permissions/copyright and licence handling– Who is responsible for checking the copyright of each submission?– At what stage in the process is this check completed and how are the decisions recorded in the

metadata?– When will the depositor sign a deposit agreement or license?– How will embargoes be dealt with?

• File management– What files will be requested from authors?– What formats will be requested?– How will associated files be identified and stored in the repository?– How will different versions of deposits be managed?

http://www.jiscinfonet.ac.uk/infokits/repositories/technical-framework/file-formats


Wits ETD Workflow

Faculty sends copies

to the University Archives

Archives keeps unbound copy,

send the digital and bound copy

to the Cullen Library (WCL)

WCL sorts

copies,sends it

on to WWL (Wartenweiler

Library)

WWL – Catalogued and

loaded onto ETD system

Rejected Copies forwarded

to Faculty who contacts the

student

Student submits toFaculty final copy


Wits Example

• Staffing- There is no Repository Manager (all Senior

Librarians are involved in getting content)- Metadata – all cataloguing staff involved in creation

and enrichment- Development (1 developer) - We have two working groups, the IR Team – tasked

with populating the IR and the Digitization Team, tasked with the creation of digital collections for the IR


DSPACE Workflow examples

• Communities and sub communities • Collections and sub collections• Handle service• Workflow example:


Questions

administration & workflow charl roberts university of the witwatersrand [email protected]...

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