Hi again, Thanks for the contributions from Chris, Mike and Stevan.
Stevan says:
The longevity of Eprints is a legitimate concern. But creating an ever greater momentum to fill university Eprints archives is an even more substantive concern, and success in meeting it is the best way to meet the first concern as well.
I agree totally - it's a case of making a commitment and jumping in at the deep end. However, there's an element of Catch-22 here. Eprints will be sustainable if ePrints is successful. But ePrints will be (more) successful if we can show it to be sustainable....we have to get over the initial hump.
More specifically, the problem is that at local institutional level not everybody is ready for an eprint commitment. We are going through a process of education and persuasion in order to convince people that what we are engaged in is a feasible and legitimate activity that will provide an important long-term service. This involves a number of issues, and Stevan for one has provided plenty of good arguments to deploy.
What we're developing here is another argument, being able to point to the underlying tools and say that these are going to be available, stable, and supported for many years to come. Having these contributions from Christopher, Mike and Stevan certainly makes it easier for me to make a case here at Strathclyde, and I imagine this applies elsewhere.
Cheers, Bob Dr Bob Kemp Information Officer, Digital Information Office Centre for Digital Library Research University of Strathclyde, Glasgow G4 0NS Phone: +44 (0)141 548 2379 FAX: +44 (0)141 548 2102
