• The John Rylands University Library
• About us
• Projects
  • Alan Gilbert Learning Commons
  • Carcanet Press Email Preservation Project
  • First Impressions
  • MaDAM
  • AHRC Rylands Cairo Genizah Project
  • St Mary's Church Library
  • StORe: Source-to-Output Repositories

Share

In this page:

• Project aims
• Benefits
• Project team
• Questionnaire, interviews and prize draw
• Definitions
• Useful websites

Project aims

One of JRUL's key strategic aims is to support research through the provision of state-of-the-art information facilities. In support of this aim, we are currently involved in the national project StORe (Source-to-Output-Repositories), together with six other university library sites in the UK. This project is part of a broader Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) initiative to improve the digital repositories for researchers who wish to deposit their data or search for information.

These digital repositories are recognised as an essential part of the information infrastructure for supporting scholarship. A survey was conducted as part of the StORe project in order to investigate how bioscience researchers make use of source and output repositories. The results will be used to improve the linkage between both types of repositories. Improved functionality will be at first be demonstrated with a pilot software.

Benefits

With improved repositories, researchers will be able to:

• track the use and influence of one's published research more conclusively
• survey research publications with their associated source information
• search information across an entire discipline or within a specific research team
• raise their research profile through increased linkage to and quotation of their work

Project team

Dagmar Biegon was the StORe researcher and responsible for conducting the biosciences survey. She is an experienced biosciences researcher and has worked on a number of biological and public health research projects. 

Lorraine Beard was the Faculty Librarian for Life Sciences at the time of the project and was responsible for overseeing the project at the University of Manchester. Lorraine is a biology graduate from the University of Manchester and has several years experience in biosciences research. 

The Project Manager for the StORe project nationally is Graham Pryor, based at the University of Edinburgh.

Questionnaire, Interviews and Prize Draw

Data gathering via online questionnaire and individual interviews is now completed. We would like to thank everybody who has shared their views and opinions with us. The survey data is currently being evaluated and an summary will be posted on this web page. If you have any questions in the meantime, please do not hesitate to contact us by e-mail.

One of the three winners of an iPOD nano is James Lynch, a PhD student at the University of Manchester's Faculty of Pharmacy. Congratulations to James and to the other winners!

Definitions

• Repositories: a central place where information is stored and maintained;
  
• Source repositories: contain primary research information on which a publication is based. Examples are quantitative statistical data, data encoded in a scientific language, or graphical data, such as images of molecular structures;
  
• Output repositories: contain research publications, either pre- or post-refereeing, or other publications such as working papers, research reports and PhD theses.

Useful websites

• JISC StORe project
• JISC website

The University of Manchester is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.