Various topics were discussed in the light of the original blogpost
Hosting on behalf of others
There was a strong recommendation to avoid hosting content from external (ie non TU Delft) parties via the repository. There had been previous arrangements to host content purchased by faculties, or owned by third parties – this had led to problems of governance and decision making as well as adding to the technical burden of managing extra collections.
4TU.ResearchData was cited as an exception to that; its entire business model and collections policy is based around ingesting scientific data from around the world.
What is the official place for TU Delft output? Pure Research Portal or the Repository?
There was agreement that there was confusion between the two. Which one acted as the official record of research and educational output from the university? Or could they, with a bit of adjustment, act as different filters on the same content? Ie, the Pure Research portal being a person-led approach to the research output, and the repository being a full-text that is subject or document led? (This idea needs further unpacking)
There was broader agreement that it will be impossible to find a single solution for all the different types of content / digital collections that the library curates. While a single storage container would be feasible, there is no single repository that can instantly supply functionality to meet the specific demands of different content and collections types.
Even within a single content type (eg open textbooks), it is difficult for the university to meet the requirements of its teaching staff. The requests for functionality are varying; creating and sustaining all those demands within one repository and interface would be challenging. Therefore it’s important for any repository to have a clear idea of what it can and cannot offer for different types of collections. And also important for the library to partner with other trusted organisations that can offer such functionality.
Next steps for educational content
The national SURF service Edusource is being tested not only for its ability to publish individual pieces of educational material, but complete courses. Should TU Delft’s current pilot with Surf prove successful, there would be less demand on an institutional repository – although Masters’ theses and related output would still need a dissemination mechanism.