To celebrate Open Access Week , the Confederation of Open Access Repositories (COAR) is hosting an open online forum related to global challenges of repository interoperability.

The open discussion is designed to gather input about current and anticipated challenges related to interoperability for OA repositories.

New topics for discussion: 

• Repository Interoperability and NGOs, IGOs, Non-Profit Organizations, and Research Funding Agencies
• Regional Issues for: Latin America, Africa, India and Asia
• Open Access, Open Educational Resources, Open Data, Open Science and Related Issues for Interoperability
• If I only knew then what I know now — advice to give new repository managers
• The interoperability resources you can’t live without
• What is being taught about interoperability in graduate school curricula?

Continued topics for discussion: 

• What are the major technical issues and challenges regarding interoperability for OA repositories that need to be addressed?
• What are the major organizational challenges related to global interoperability for OA repositories?

The Confederation of Open Access Repositories (COAR) is facilitating a discussion about interoperability among Open Access repositories within the global context. To kick off this process, COAR has released a briefing paper, “The Case for Interoperability for Open Access Repositories,” an overview of interoperability and selected current issues. The paper is available on the COAR Interoperability Project web site.

The next step is to collect and analyze stakeholder input about the current interoperability environment. We invite you to participate and submit your thoughts about current and anticipated interoperability challenges, problems for the research community that might be addressed by interoperability guidelines, barriers to progress, and other related issues. Questions to start the dialogue are posted on the COAR Interoperability Project web site..

We encourage participants to raise new questions, respond to the posted questions, and respond to others’ comments.

The discussion will be available on the COAR web site until approximately 22-October 2011. After that, we will review input and define and draft the COAR Roadmap for Global Open Access Repository Interoperability (estimated timeframe: 4th quarter 2011, 1st quarter 2012).

We hope to have a lively discussion!

The Confederation of Open Access Repositories (COAR) is pleased to announce publication of the briefing, “The Case for Interoperability for Open Access Repositories.”

The paper is available on the COAR Interoperability Project web site.

Abstract

Open Access repositories, whose number has been steadily rising, are an important component of the global e-Research infrastructure. The real value of repositories lies in the potential to interconnect them to create a network of repositories, a network that can provide unified access to research outputs and be (re-) used by machines and researchers. However, in order to achieve this potential, we need interoperability. The purpose of this paper is to provide a high-level overview of interoperability of Open Access repositories, identify the major issues and challenges that need to be addressed, stimulate the engagement of the repository community and launch a process that will lead to the establishment of a COAR roadmap for repository interoperability.

The Confederation of Open Access Repositories (COAR) is pleased to announce a Spanish translation of the Open Access Policy Kit – “Kit de Políticas de Acceso Abierto”. The kit was produced by RCAAP (Portugal Open Access Scientific Repository) and contains valuable information and resources for the development and implementation of Open Access policies at funding agencies and universities. Continue reading →