Ingest Process:
Identifying version status and version relationships upon deposit into the repository needs to be an essential stage of the ingest process, in order to save time and effort for all parties involved in version identification further down the line. The point of ingest is the prime opportunity to ascertain version information direct from the content creator.
It is possible in some repository software platforms for some parts of this process to be automated, such as automatic title / author duplication checking, but it remains important that repository staff make the most of the opportunities presented at the deposit stage to define correctly the version status of any object offered for deposit.
Recommendations:
The framework also makes recommendations to repository software developers to introduce automation to this process, and also recommends that repository staff ensure the following checks are made of any item that is deposited into their repository:
- Check for duplication within home repository and, if possible, external repositories. This is particularly important if:
- the content creator has recently moved institutions,
- is required to deposit elsewhere by their funding body
- co-authored the work with someone from another institution.
- Version status check - can the depositor identify if this is a version, or describe its context within and outside of the repository?
- Check that any information contained within the item, such as title page, on cover sheet, or in any id tag or properties fields, match those given at the deposit stage and do not cause confusion.
- Check if the depositor is aware of the recommendations made to them by VIF and
VERSIONS (See the Advocacy page for
more details).
Further comments:
Repository managers will be naturally wary of any extra work that they are encouraged to do related to populating their repositories. VIF has found however that many problems with version identification are down to poor version description at the point of deposit.
Future user confusion and enquiries will be minimised by taking the small extra step of considering what version an object is upon deposit.
Next Section:
Please read the next section on
Advocacy.