Where are we with repositories in Europe today?
Open Science is becoming the default in Europe and researchers are getting unprecedented access to the full corpus of research for analysis, text and data mining, and other new research methods. A prerequisite for achieving this vision is a strong and well-functioning network of repositories that provides human and machine-readable access to research outputs.
OpenAIRE, LIBER, COAR and SPARC Europe are interested in understanding the current challenges and opportunities of European repositories before we take further steps in this area. In answer to that, we published a survey of the European repository landscape earlier this year.
What better way to end this exceptionally busy year, than to share the results of this study. Some nuggets include: We found that collectively, European repositories acquire, preserve and provide open access to tens or possibly hundreds of millions of valuable research outputs and represent critical, not-for-profit infrastructure in the European open science landscape. And we believe that repositories are well-placed to support the expansion of open science practices and research assessment reform across Europe together with other approaches.
However, in order to ensure the European repository network is fit for purpose and able to support the evolving needs of the research community, three areas need strengthening: maintaining our technical infrastructure; applying consistent and comprehensive good practices in terms of metadata, preservation, and usage statistics; and gaining appropriate visibility in the scholarly ecosystem.
The survey provides us with essential data that will help OpenAIRE, LIBER, COAR and SPARC Europe shape a European repository strategy next year. Please join us all in thanking all those repositories who responded to our survey.
Read the full report: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10255559
For more information, please contact: kathleen.shearer@coar-repositories.org