Next Generation Repositories (NGRs) is an ongoing initiative of COAR to identify common behaviours, protocols and technologies that will enable new and improved functionalities for repository systems.
The widespread deployment of repository systems in higher education and research institutions provides the foundation for a distributed, globally networked infrastructure for scholarly communication. However, in order to leverage the value of the repository network, we need to equip repositories with a wider array of roles and functionalities, which can be enabled through new levels of webcentric interoperability. In addition, to develop value added services on top of the distributed repository nework, the different repository platforms need to adopt a set of common technologies, protocols and behaviours.
Our vision is to position repositories as the foundation for a distributed, globally networked infrastructure for scholarly communication, on top of which layers of value added services will be deployed, thereby transforming the system, making it more research-centric, open to and supportive of innovation, while also collectively managed by the scholarly community.
Next Generation Repositories Report
In November 2017, COAR published the first Next Generation Repositories report which contains a list of 19 technologies and protocols for repository systems. The recommendations are based on a wide array of user stories and behaviours that were vetted and prioritized by the repository community. Read the full report in English and French
Since the report was published, COAR has been advancing the adoption of the technologies and functionalities outlined within. In particular:
- Repositories are strongly encouraged to adopt signposting into their records to support machine access to resources.
- The COAR Notify Initiative was launched to develop a protocol which links resources in repositories with other related resources
