When a Repository Is Not Enough: Redesigning a Digital Ecosystem to Serve Scholarly Communication Academic Article uri icon

abstract

  • INTRODUCTION Our librarys digital asset management system (DAMS) was no longer meeting digital asset management requirements or expanding scholarly communication needs. We formed a multiunit task force (TF) to (1) survey and identify existing and emerging institutional needs; (2) research available DAMS (open source and proprietary) and assess their potential fit; and (3) deploy software locally for in-depth testing and evaluation. DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAM We winnowed a field of 25 potential DAMS down to 5 for deployment and evaluation. The process included selection and identification of test collections and the creation of a multipart task based rubric based on library and campus needs assessments. Time constraints and DAMS deployment limitations prompted a move toward a new evaluation iteration: a shorter criteria-based rubric. LESSONS LEARNED We discovered that no single DAMS was just right, nor was any single DAMS a static product. Changing and expanding scholarly communication and digital needs could only be met by the more flexible approach offered by a multicomponent digital asset management ecosystem (DAME), described in this study. We encountered obstacles related to testing complex, rapidly evolving software available in a range of configurations and flavors (including tiers of vendor-hosted functionality) and time and capacity constraints curtailed in-depth testing. While we anticipate long-term benefits from going further together by including university-wide representation in the task force, there were trade-offs in distributing responsibilities and diffusing priorities. NEXT STEPS Shifts in scholarly communication at multiple levelsinstitutional, regional, consortial, national, and internationalhave already necessitated continual review and adjustment of our digital systems.

published proceedings

  • Journal of Librarianship and Scholarly Communication

altmetric score

  • 21.092

author list (cited authors)

  • Sewell, R. R., Potvin, S., Melgoza, P., Creel, J. S., Huff, J. T., Bailey, G. T., ... Wright, B. J.

citation count

  • 0

complete list of authors

  • Sewell, Robin R||Potvin, Sarah||Melgoza, Pauline||Creel, James Silas||Huff, Jeremy T||Bailey, Gregory T||Bondurant, John||Buckner, Sean||duPlessis, Anton R||Furubotten, Lisa||Mosbo Ballestro, Julie A||Muise, Ian W||Wright, Brian J

publication date

  • January 2019