vif at alt-c
DESCRIPTION
Presentation for ALT-CTRANSCRIPT
ALT-C 10th September 2008
Dave Puplett
ALT-C, 10th September 2008www.lse.ac.uk/library/vif
The VIF project• Funded by JISC’s Repositories and Preservation Programme from July
2007 to May 2008
• Expanded on previous work:• Versions, RIVER
• Structure:• Based a user requirements exercise – 2 surveys• Dissemination phase to promote the recommendations and guidance
and raise awareness of the issue of versioning
• Tasked with creating a web-based version identification framework for:• repository management• software development• creation of content• www.lse.ac.uk/library/vif
ALT-C, 10th September 2008www.lse.ac.uk/library/vif
What could VIF help to do?
• Bridge the divide of information rich and poor – institutions can support Open Access, but also individuals can now access a worldwide array of research, because OA provides access to work that was previously only available via expensive, institutional level, subscriptions
• Repositories uncover previously hidden research work, including data, that can now be used and re-used for a variety of uses
• Build reliable, trustable systems that will allow a wider audience than ever before to have access to the research outputs of academic institutions and use this material.
ALT-C, 10th September 2008www.lse.ac.uk/library/vif
Survey results
• Only 5% of academics and 6.5% of Information Professionals surveyed found it easy to identify versions of digital objects within institutional repositories.
• There is strong feeling amongst academics that repositories should only include the ‘finished’ version of a work.
• Both information professionals and academics anticipate a substantial rise in the use of different types of digital objects deposited i.e. audio and video files etc.
• Approximately a third of Information Professionals involved with repositories stated that they either have no system currently in place or ‘don’t know’ how they deal with versioning at present
ALT-C, 10th September 2008www.lse.ac.uk/library/vif
What are versions?
There are different sorts of versions: • minor changes (a revision)• significant changes (a landmark version, e.g. peer reviewed,
published etc)• formatting or stylistic changes (e.g. typesetting or font)• change of file format (creating a digital variant)
• But one research project can generate many outputs describing the same idea or work…therefore:
• It is possible to call both different outputs and iterations ‘versions’
ALT-C, 10th September 2008www.lse.ac.uk/library/vif
VIF’s definition:
• A 'version' is a digital object (in whatever format) that exists in time and place and has a context that can be described by the relationship it has to other objects
• A ‘version relationship’ is an understanding or expression of how two or more objects relate to each other
ALT-C, 10th September 2008www.lse.ac.uk/library/vif
• VIF identified pieces of information that give clues about version status:• Dates• Identifiers• Version Numbers• Version Labels or Taxonomies• Text Description
Making information about version transparent
ALT-C, 10th September 2008www.lse.ac.uk/library/vif
Overview of framework recommendationsRepository Management:• Formulate wider strategy; set and promote clear policies • Use object solutions and get version information at the point of ingest• Include version information in metadata
Software Development:• Make systems cope with and link more than one version• Support richer metadata
Recommendations for Content Creators:• State the author, title and date last changed• Keep track of which versions are available and where
Project Director:Frances Shipsey, LSE Library, [email protected]
Project Manager:Jenny Brace, LSE Library, [email protected]
Project and Communications Officer:Dave Puplett, LSE Library, [email protected]
Project Officer:Paul Cave, University of Leeds, [email protected]
Project Officer: Catherine Jones, Science and Technology Facilities Council, [email protected]