The Eleventh International Conference on Open Repositories, OR2016, will be held on June 13th-16th, 2016 in Dublin, Ireland. The organizers are pleased to issue this call for contributions to the program.

As previous Open Repositories have demonstrated, the use of digital repositories to manage research, scholarly and cultural information is well established and increasingly mature. Entering our second decade, we have an opportunity to reflect on where we’ve been and, more importantly, where we’re heading. New development continues apace, and we’ve reached the time when many organizations are exploring expansive connections with larger processes both inside and outside traditional boundaries. Open Repositories 2016 will explore how our rich collections and infrastructure are now an inherent part of contemporary scholarship and research and how they have expanded to touch many aspects of our academic and cultural enterprises.

The theme of OR2016 is “Illuminating the World.” OR2016 will provide an opportunity to explore the ways in which repositories and related infrastructure and processes:

·         bring different disciplines, collections, and people to light;

·         expose research, scholarship, and collections from developing countries;

·         increase openness of collections, software, data and workflows;

·         highlight data patterns and user pathways through collections; and

·         how we can organize to better support these - and other - infrastructures.

We welcome proposals on these ideas, but also on the theoretical, practical, technical, organizational or administrative topics related to digital repositories.  Submissions that demonstrate original and repository-related work outside of these themes will be considered, but preference will be given to submissions which address them. We are particularly interested in the following themes.

1.  Supporting Open Scholarship, Open Data, and Open Science

Papers are invited to consider how repositories can best support the needs of open science and open scholarship to make research as accessible and useful as possible, including:

·           Open access, open data and open educational resources

·           Scholarly workflows, publishing and communicating scientific knowledge

·           Exposure of research and scholarship from developing countries and under-resourced communities and disciplines

·           Compliance with funder mandates

2. Repositories and Cultural Heritage

Papers are invited to consider how repositories and their associated infrastructures best support the needs of cultural heritage collections, organizations, and researchers. Areas of interest include:

·           Impact of aggregation on repository infrastructure and management

·           Exposure of collections and cultural heritage from developing countries and under-resourced communities and disciplines

·           Special considerations in access and use of cultural heritage collections

·           Reuse and analysis of content.

3. Repositories of high volume and/or complex data and collections

Papers are invited to consider how we can use tools and processes to highlight data patterns and user pathways through large corporas including:

·           Data and text mining

·           Entity recognition

·           Linked data

·           Standardized interfaces

·           Interaction with large-scale computation and simulation processes

·           Issues of scale and size beyond traditional repository contexts

4. Managing Research Data, Software, and Workflows

Papers are invited to consider how repositories can support the needs of research data and related software and workflows. Areas of interest are:

·           Curation lifecycle management, including storage, software and workflows

·           Digital preservation tools and services

·           Reuse and analysis of scientific content

·           Scholarly workflows, publishing and communicating scientific knowledge

5. Integrating with the Wider Web and External Systems

Papers are invited to explore, evaluate, or demonstrate integration with external systems, including:

·           CRIS and research management systems

·           Notification and compliance tracking systems

·           Identifier services

·           Preservation services and repositories

·           Publisher systems

·           Collection management systems and workflows

6. Exploring Metrics, Assessment, and Impact

Papers are invited to present experiences on metrics and assessment services for a range of content, including:

·           Bibliometrics

·           Downloads (e.g. COUNTER compliance)

·           Altmetrics and other alternative methods of tracking and presenting impact

7. Managing Rights

Papers are invited to examine the role of rights management in the context of open repositories, including:

·           Research and scholarly communication outputs

·           Licenses (e.g. Creative Commons, Open Data Commons)

·           Embargoes

·           Requirements of funder mandates

8. Developing and Training Staff

Papers are invited to consider the evolving role of staff who support and manage repositories across libraries, cultural heritage organizations, research offices and computer centres, especially:

·           New roles and responsibilities

·           Training needs and opportunities

·           Career path and recruitment

·           Community support

KEY DATES

·         01 February 2016: Deadline for submissions and Scholarship Programme applications

·         01 February 2016: Registration opens

·         28 March 2016: Submitters notified of acceptance to general conference

·         11 April 2016: Submitters notified of acceptance to Interest Groups

·         13-16 June 2016: OR2016 conference

SUBMISSION PROCESS

Conference Papers and Panels

We expect that proposals for papers or panels will be two to four-pages (see below for optional Proposal Templates). Abstracts of accepted papers and panels will be made available through the conference's web site, and later they and associated materials will be made available in an open repository. In general, sessions will have three papers; panels may take an entire session or may be combined with a paper. Relevant papers unsuccessful in the main track will be considered for inclusion, as appropriate, as an Interest Group presentation, poster or 24/7.

Interest Group Presentations

The opportunity to engage with and learn more about the work of relevant communities of interest is a key element of Open Repositories. One to two page proposals are invited for presentations or panels that focus on the work of such communities, traditionally DSpace, EPrints, Fedora, and Invenio, describing novel experiences or developments in the construction and use of repositories involving issues specific to these technical platforms. Further information about applications for additional Interest Groups and guidance on submissions will be forthcoming.

24x7 Presentations

24x7 presentations are 7 minute presentations comprising no more than 24 slides. Proposals for 24x7 presentations should be one to two-pages. Similar to Pecha Kuchas or Lightning Talks, these 24x7 presentations will be grouped into blocks based on conference themes, with each block followed by a moderated discussion / question and answer session involving the audience and whole block of presenters. This format will provide conference goers with a fast-paced survey of like work across many institutions, and presenters the chance to disseminate their work in more depth and context than a traditional poster.

"Repository RANTS" 24x7 Block

One block of 24x7's will revolve around "repository rants": brief exposés that challenge the conventional wisdom or practice, and highlight what the repository community is doing that is misguided, or perhaps just missing altogether. The top proposals will be incorporated into a track meant to provoke unconventional approaches to repository services.

"Repository RAVES" 24x7 Block

One block of 24x7's at OR2016 will revolve around "repository raves": brief exposés that celebrate particular practice and processes, and highlight what the repository community is doing that is right. The top proposals will be incorporated into a track meant to celebrate successful approaches to repository services.

Posters

We invite one-page proposals for posters that showcase current work. Attendees will view and discuss your work during the poster reception.

2016 Developer Track: Top Tips, Cunning Code and Illuminating Insights

Each year a significant proportion of the delegates at Open Repositories are software developers who work on repository software or related services. OR2016 will feature a Developer Track and Ideas Challenge that will provide a focus for showcasing work and exchanging ideas.

Building on the success of last year's Developer Track, where we encouraged live hacking and audience participation, we invite members of the technical community to share the features, systems, tools and best practices that are important to you.  Presentations can be as informal as you like, but once again we encourage live demonstrations, tours of code repositories, examples of cool features and the unique viewpoints that so many members of our community possess.  Submissions should take the form of a title and a brief outline of what will be shared with the community.

Further details and guidance on the Ideas Challenge will be forthcoming.

Developers are also encouraged to contribute to the other tracks as papers, posters, 24x7 presentations, repository raves and rants 24x7 blocks.

Workshops and Tutorials

One to two-page proposals for workshops and tutorials addressing theoretical or practical issues around digital repositories are welcomed. Please address the following in your proposal:

·         The subject of the event and what knowledge you intend to convey

·         Length of session (e.g., 1-hour, 2-hour, half a day or a whole day)

·         A brief statement on the learning outcomes from the session

·         How many attendees you plan to accommodate

·         Technology and facility requirements

·         Any other supplies or support required

·         Anything else you believe is pertinent to carrying out the session

Proposal Templates

The OR2016 proposal templates are a guideline to help you prepare an effective submission. They will be provided in both the Word document and plain-text Markdown formats and provide details around the requirements for conference papers and panels and 24/7's and posters. These will be available from the conference website shortly.

Submission system

The conference system will be open for submissions by 15 December 2015. PDF format is preferred.

CODE OF CONDUCT

We will be publishing guidelines for conduct at OR2016. As a reference, the OR2015 Code of Conduct is available at http://www.or2015.net/code-of-conduct/ and the 2015 Anti-Harrassment Policy is at http://www.or2015.net/anti-harassment-policy/.

SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAMME

Open Repositories 2016 Scholarship Programme

The Open Repositories Steering Committee is delighted to announce that we are supporting the Open Repositories 2016 Scholarship Programme. This programme will provide support for a small number of full registered places for the 2016 conference in Dublin through a competitive application process. The programme is open to librarians, repository managers, developers, and researchers in digital libraries and related fields. Applicants submitting a paper for the conference will be given priority consideration for funding (please provide details of your submission in the application form).

Two questions in the application form ask ‘What is it about Open Repositories that interests you’ and ‘What do you expect to gain from attending the conference?’ You may wish to prepare answers to these before completing the form as the responses to these will be critical to the success of your application.

Please note: the Scholarship provides funding only for a full conference registration (including the conference banquet and poster reception). It does not cover other costs such as accommodation, travel, and subsistence. It is anticipated that the applicant’s home institution will provide financial support to supplement the OR Scholarship Award.

Application  http://goo.gl/forms/xbqwGSa5Fb (via GoogleDocs)

The deadline for applications is 01 February 2016.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Program Co-Chairs

David Minor, University of California, San Diego
Matthias Razum, FIZ Karlsruhe
Sarah Shreeves, University of Miami

contact: or16-program-chairs@googlegroups.com

Local Hosts

Trinity College Dublin

contact: OR2016@conferencepartners.ie

Conference Website and Social Media

website: http://or2016.net/ 

twitter: @OR2016Dub and #or2016Dub

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ORConference/