UK Council of Research Repositories UKCoRR Dominic Tate E xternal Liaison Officer

1. UK Council of Research RepositoriesUKCoRRDominic TateExternal Liaison Officer

2. Background • Started in 2007 off the back of SHERPA Plus, which was a funded project • Instigated by colleagues at the University of Nottingham, with support from member of the ‘repository community’ in the UK • Founded with the knowledge that providing support is essential to facilitating change • Current Membership ca. 250

3. What does UKCoRR do? • Professional Organisation for Repository Manager & Administrators in the UK • *Closed* Mailing List • Website providing information • http://www.ukcorr.org/ • Blog • http://ukcorr.blogspot.com/ • Professional Representation, Events & Networking Opportunities

4. Benefits • The mailing list provides a forum in which colleagues can comfortably seek advice on all aspects of establishing, running and embedding repositories • The Committee acts as a democratic ‘voice’ for the community, representing the needs and concerns of repository managers and administrators across the country • Feeling of ‘community’ means that members will support one another within the forum and individually

5. UKCoRR Mailing List • Provided by JISC, using the JISCMail platform - supported at zero cost to members • Closed to those working within the UK higher education and research sectors, as active repository administrators • No commercial interests on the list – members can offer honest opinions on matters relating to suppliers, publishers etc • Participation encouraged – not many ‘lurkers’ • Responses to problems can be provided on- or off-list • Using ‘rules’ to file messages mean that the list does not interfere with day-to-day inbox messages

6. UKCoRR Membership Meetings • Meetings take place at least once per year • Venues are normally a lecture theatre/seminar room in a library at the host university • Speakers volunteer their time and their institutions cover their expenses • Long coffee breaks and lunch breaks are provided to encourage networking – as well as café-style seating • Meetings allow members to share experiences and develop useful professional networks

7. External Representation • CILIP (The Chartered Institute for Library & Information Professionals) • JISC (Joint Information Systems Committee) • COAR (Coalition of Open Access Repositories) • The British Library (e.g. regarding the EThOS Service).

8. Finances • UKCoRR has *NO* money • Reliant on existing infrastructure for support • JISC provide the JISCMail service • University of Nottingham/University of Lincoln host the website • Blog makes use of Blogger software • Committee uses free telephone conference software • Committee time, email, internet access, telephone use are absorbed by institutional infrastructure • Meeting rooms are normally free – the host institution kindly sponsors lunch • There has been discussion around finding some finances, but surviving without funding has worked well for UKCoRR over the last four years

9. Would this work elsewhere? • We think so… • We have had informal discussions with colleagues in Greece, Serbia and Japan • You could… • Start with an informal group, communicating by email/Skype/telephone • Perhaps start a blog or website • Test the water for the demand in your country • See what infrastructure is available to you • Ask who else would need to be involved

10. How we can help • The Committee agrees that we are particularly lucky in the UK – and has made an agreement to help wherever we can • We can provide advice and feedback based on our experience • Please do get in touch!!

11. Dominic Tate, External Liaison Officerdominic.tate@rhul.ac.uk+44 (0) 1784 276619