RSpace (Rensionspace):
Renison University College Digital Repository Project
Background:
In the 1990’s researchers discovered they could distribute their research before it was
published using pre-print servers. These servers provided readers quick access to
preliminary research and non-peer-reviewed literature. Since then, these servers have
become more commonplace, filling a need and desire among researchers to have a system
which provides open access and an interoperable framework for the dissemination of
information. Dspace (www.dspace.org) includes these key features and addresses
scholars concerns about retaining copyright.
Currently, institutions are facing a digital preservation crisis. Large amounts of their
digital material are at risk or already lost. Therefore, there is a need to capture as much
information as possible to support functional preservation. Dspace provides an effective
mechanism to capture and metatag these vulnerable digital materials using a submission
workflow module, to distribute an institution's digital works over the web through a
retrieval system, and to preserve digital works over the long term.
RSpace has much to offer:
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A web publishing platform
An interactive tool to capture, store, preserve, and disseminate scholarly material,
in any format, directly from creators
A service model for open access
Full-Text Search and Retrieval of all Dspace or one community or collection
Persistent identifiers
Provides descriptive, technical, and rights metadata
Versioning
Content management
Along with providing the essential service of e-publishing and author retention of
copyright, and of increasing the profile of Renison University College and enhancing the
use and visibility of its scholarly research the benefits of RSpace include:
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Open source and OAI compliance
Self-publication with uncomplicated user interface
Federation services for useful interoperation
Object model allows hierarchical object structures and multiple document formats
Rights management for researchers
Cross-institution/cross-collection search
Distributed model with decentralized communities
Insure longevity of stored files
New functionality contributed by users from more than 120 education institutions
from all over the world.
The goals and objectives of the pilot project include:
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To establish a scalable digital repository to preserve Renison scholarly materials.
To provide efficient, effective, and reliable worldwide access to collective
scholarly works at Renison
To achieve interoperability with other University of Waterloo and institutional
repositories
To invest and promote Renison scholarship
To increase the use of locally available Renison research and scholarly work
To target the next generation of scholars, so they will learn about RSpace and
deposit their scholarly works and publications online
To effectively store and deliver all Renison materials in digital format
To evaluate and enhance future Rspace services
Operation:
Renison library will work with University of Waterloo Library and pilot with Rension
academic units to establish the RSpace digital repository. Members of the Renison
community can deposit their publications and works online.
The RSpace digital repository will be part of the University of Waterloo Library’s Digital
Repository and administrated by the University of Waterloo Library with technical and
data entry support from the Renison library staff.
Possible RSpace content includes:
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Articles
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Technical Reports
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Working Papers
Conference Papers
Renison Archives
Renison research project
proposals and reports
Research forum presentations
Academic research
Student projects
Course materials (archived)
Honor Theses
Datasets
Images
Audio/Video
Digital Storytelling files
Learning objects
Digitized library collections
Service Model:
The RSpace will be a partnership project with the University of Waterloo Library. The
repository content will be organized around communities, corresponding to Renison
academic and administrative units such as schools/programs or centres. Each community
can house unlimited collections. The collections can be open or restricted access,
depending on the requirements of the unit. Each collection can store unlimited digital
objects with persistent identifiers. Each digital object can contain files in different
bitstreams.
Each community has its own entry page displaying information, news, and links related
to that community as well as a descriptive listing of the collection. The community will
set up their collection policies and workflow, managing access to the collection.
RSpace will support university of Waterloo single sign-in with LDAP authentication
RSpace
Community A
Community B
Collection A
bitsream pdf
Technologies
Community C
Collection B
Digital Object 1
Digital Object 2
bitstream video
bitstream article
Collection C
Digital Object 3
The RSpace production service version will run on a dedicated LINUX Apache/Tomcat
server located in Computing Services and designed to handle the large user loads and
database queries anticipated of this project. The system will use modular architecture and
well-defined APIs.
The software is programmed in Java and uses RDBMS for handling the metadata. The
data will be stored in tables on a PostgreSQL database, using Dublin Core to facilitate
easy access to and sharing of metadata. Bibliographic information (e.g., author, title, date,
and abstract), links to the bitstream file, and copyright information corresponding to the
object will be recorded on the metadata entry form. The system uses a CNRI Handle
System for persistent identifiers and Lucene for indexing and searching. It also supports
XML rendering, open URL linking, and certificate-based access control.
The electronic submission system allows creators to submit and deposit their digital
objects and automatically generates metadata. This metadata is gathered regularly onto a
central server, creating a metadata database. This database can then be searched and links
are provided to the object and copyright information.
Timeline
Project Phase
Design, planning and installation
Development and customization of the system and
project website
Selection and collection of repository materials
End user support, training, project documentation,
submission guide and maintenance
Project evaluation
Total
Expected Duration/Timeline
2 months
3 months
2 months
2 months
3 months
12 months
Evaluation
The formative evaluation will be ongoing, including analysis of the project's performance
against its goals and objectives. It will solicit suggestions and feedback from partners
and users.
The summative evaluation will be conducted by the project team, including a wide range
of measures such as interviews with end users and a statistical evaluation of the impact of
the project. The outcome of the evaluation will be used to assess the success of the pilot
project in meeting its goals and objectives, as well as its impact on Renison digital
preservation and scholarly publishing.
Related Resources
DSpace Federation
http://www.dspace.org/
DSpace @MIT
http://libraries.mit.edu/dspace-mit/
UWSPACE
https://uwspace.uwaterloo.ca/handle/10012/6