Organizational and Business Perspectives on Open Access to Information
Oya Y. RiegerCornell University Library
LVI 2012
5
• established in 1991 by Paul Ginsparg
• has been hosted at Cornell since 2001
• includes 790,000 e-prints
• 2011 –76,578 new submissions –~50 million downloads
2011 Institutional Downloads by Domain Name
6
edu 26%
de 12%
uk 8%jp 7%fr 6%
it 5%
ch 4%
ca 3%gov 3%
es 3%
other 24%
CUL: 0.5% use rank #38
7
Business Model, 2013-2017• Cornell University Library– $75,000 per year in support of operational costs – in-kind contribution of all indirect costs (37%)
• Simons Foundation– $50,000 per year – $300,000 per year matching grant
• Member Institution– annual fees within $1,500-3,000 range (based on usage
ranking)
Sociotechnical Systems
• interrelatedness of social and technical aspects of an information systems
• networks of content, people, work practices, values, and policies
Principles for Sustainability
1. Deep integration into academic community and scholarly processes
2. Clearly defined mandate & governance structure
3. Technology platform stability and innovation4. Systematic development of content policies5. Reliance on business planning strategies
• Factor in research, communication, and collaboration practices & values• Balance IT bandwidth with sociocultural
bandwidth • Implement user-based strategies & feedback
cycles
1. Deep Integration into Academic Community & Scholarly Processes
2. Clearly Defined Mandate & Governance Structure
• Ensure that an organization has the means to:–envision its future– implement the vision– sustain the process over time
• Tenets:–Participatory, accountable, transparent,
responsive, equitable, and inclusive
15
arXiv -- Key Principles• General – arXiv provides an open access repository of scientific
research to authors and researchers worldwide.– arXiv is a scholarly communication forum informed and
guided by scientists and the scientific cultures being served.
• Editorial– Criteria and standards for deposit in arXiv are maintained by
the Scientific Advisory Board.
• Economic– arXiv is supported financially by Cornell University Library
and a global collective of institutional members with potential foundation grants
• Governance
Member Advisory Board
Scientific Advisory Board
• Advise CUL on issues related to:o repository management and
development,o standards implementation,
interoperability,o development priorities,o business planningo outreach and advocacy.
• Provide advice and guidance pertaining to the intellectual oversight of arXiv
• Oversee arXiv's moderation system.• Review the criteria and standards
for deposit in arXiv • Propose new subject or discipline
domains
Cornell University Library• Manages the moderation of submissions and user
support;• Operates arXiv’s technical infrastructure;• Ensures long-term access and maintains arXiv mirror
sites.• Establishes and maintains partnerships with related
initiatives; • Assumes financial responsibility for running arXiv;• Maintains transparent and open communication; • Provides legal protection.
• Repository ecology:– interoperability & relation to other
repositories– lowering the barriers in contributing content
in multiple repositories –discovery & access: increasing relevance– archiving for access by designated
communities – features in support of supplementary
information objects
3. Technology Platform Stability and Innovation
• Clearly defined collection policies and submission guidelines
• Quality control & endorsement systems
• Scholarly communication chain– version control & persistence– author name disambiguation
4. Systematic Development of Content Policies
• Key elements of a business planning–Value proposition – Stakeholders’ perspectives– Financial planning – costs & revenues–ROI–Communication plan
5. Reliance on Business Planning Strategies
Repository Architecture
Discovery and Access
Submission, Moderation, Quality
Control
Interoperability with Related Systems
Sociology of Science&
Stakeholders
Financial Stability
SUSTAINABILITY
