I-WIRE Updates

Just a quick update today. MePrints, an offshoot of EPrints, has just been brought to our attention. This is something we are interested in exploring as it is a more user-friendly version of the EPrints system, and gives users details of their recent publications and number of hits. These user-centred portal features are what the I-WIRE Project is setting out to achieve, so this is of great interest to us.

In other news, we are still ploughing through the requirements captured, focusing on what is achievable within the timescale and scope of the project. We've had three analysis sessions, and have two more scheduled for this week. Our requirements report is due at the end of January, and we also have a visit from Andy McGregor, our JISC project manager, tomorrow - a very busy week for us! Andy's visit is well-timed howver as we are wrapping up our requirements phase and moving into design and development.

Identity Management

Scott is currently in discussions with Joan Wright of Cardiff University’s Identity Management team (IdMan) and William Nixon of Enrich about the question of unique personal identifiers for researchers and administrators who will be using the workflow to deposit into ORCA. This will help improve the data quality and also integrate ORCA/EPrints with other systems.

To make this possible, ORCA would need to hold a unique identifier for authors; we cannot use a person’s name for example, as these are not unique.  So one of the questions the I-WIRE Project has to answer is which unique identifier to use.

The recommendation from Joan and William is that we use the IdMan Identity Number. Our next step is for Lee Paton, our EPrints developer and advisor, to look into the feasibility and impact of this suggestion.

MWE Integration

One crucial issue that has reared its head is how the interface between EPrints and the MWE will work. Part of the I-WIRE concept and brief is to establish a direct, real-time link between the MWE research portal and EPrints, but when Jim recently went to a developer's meeting at Southampton University, he discovered that EPrints does not at present have the functionality to interface with the planned research portal. This is obviously a concern as integration with the MWE is an essential feature of this project! Jim is currently evaluating our options, and he aims to present a recommended solution at the next Project Management Group meeting on 11th November.

Welcome to the I-WIRE Project Blog

Welcome to the blog for the JISC funded I-WIRE (Integrated Workflow for Institutional Repository Enhancement) Project.

The I-WIRE project will develop a workflow and toolset, integrated into a portal environment, for the submission, indexing, and re-purposing of research outputs in Cardiff University’s Institutional Repository (ORCA). This will be based on requirements gathered from academic Schools and administrative Directorates in the University.

The project starts this month April 2009 and runs for 2 years.