EROS

EROS (Edge hill Reserach Online Store) has had a name change, it’s now Edge Hill Research Archive. Although the name is simple there was a lot of debate behind the name change. We wanted the name Edge Hill to appear in the name (in EROS the Hill was lost). The repositories focus is very much geared towards research, particularly towards showcasing the works of academics that will be submitted to the REF: we wished to accentuate this. An archive not only represents storage it has many more positive connotations such as collection, a place where knowledge is, preservation, etc. (we really did not want to use the word repository, its a turn off and I have certainly heard my share of jokes and sniggers when it is mentioned).

After some months delay the EROS project is moving forward again. EPrints visited last week for a kick off meeting and are expecting to have an interim release of the repository available by the end of March.

On the 29th May, Berkeley Electronic Press visted the University to demonstate their repository product: Digital Commons. The event was well attended, with represenatatives from the academic community, the research office, IT services and library services attending.

The feedback was positive. It provided an excellent opportunity for staff to see the opportunities a repository will bring to our University. It has provided a useful starting point for the research communitity to visualise how they want the Edge Hill repository to look and function: very helpful now we are conducting user needs analysis.

A place to give you updates about the progress of the Edge hill Research Online Store – a JISC funded 12 month project to set up an Institutaional Repository of Journals and Research outputs.