Hello!
Martin Morrey wrote:
> I would have thought it was quite a normal function of a repository
> system to have hidden/closed collections of materials, or indeed
> collections to which only specific groups of users have access. There
> should be absolutely no need to have a separate instance of the
> repository system to achieve this.
That is quite a sweeping statement! When ever there is "absolutely no
need", often someone will find one. ;-) Security, reassurance of the
separation, ease of management/maintenence. Some people want to present
what is essentially a Web site as the public face of their repository -
search and retrieval only - hiding all of the admin stuff (a potential
security risk) behind firewalls and the like. Some people want to have a
repository for all the rubbish (the filing cabinet stuff) which they
keep hidden and need to be able to tell the users of it that it'll be
kept hidden, and one for the good stuff - the showcase, the display
cabinet - like in the physical world. I once had a friend who kept all
his fantasy fiction books in the spare room where no one would see them
and all the books he deemed good to show off on a shelf in his lounge.
You could argue there was absolutely no reason why he would need a
separate instance of his shelving system, but he did... ;-)
That said, I take your point - it is most definately a function worth
having in repository software too!
Maybe it depends on what you define the "repository system" as - is it a
single piece of software, is it an architecture diagram for the
Institution's information system, or something else?
--
Pete Cliff
Research Officer, Repositories Support Project
UKOLN, The University of Bath, BATH. BA2 7AY
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