Hi,
Within the repositories community we often talk about how to encourage
faculty to self-archive their works. We also sometimes talk about the
problems with repositories, and how repositories are not yet part of the
daily toolkit of faculty. In an attempt to see whether bringing these two
problems together by allowing faculty to deposit from within a tool that
many do use on a daily basis, as part of the JISC funded SWORD 2 project I
have now created a Facebook repository deposit application.
For the uninitiated, Facebook is a social networking site, where users add
other users as friends¹, congregate in groups based on their activities and
interests, and update the site with small parts of their daily life
(uploading photos, saying what they have been up to that day, sending
messages to old class mates etc). Snippets of updates from friends are
aggregated on the home page of a user so that they can see what their
friends have been up to recently. Users are also able to comment on the
activities of their friends. Facebook has for some become a site with as
much importance as email when it comes to checking messages and updates and
interacting with friends and colleagues.
Should we and could we try to leverage this type of system to help populate
our repositories?
Being able to deposit from within a site such as Facebook would enable what
I¹m going to call 'the Social Deposit'. What does a social deposit look
like? It has the following characteristics:
- It takes place within a social networking type site such as Facebook.
- The deposit is performed by the author of a work, not a third party (not a
mediated deposit)
- Once the deposit has taken place, messages and updates are provided
stating that the user has performed the deposit.
- Friends and colleagues of the depositor will see that a deposit has taken
place, and can read what has been deposited if they want to.
- Friends and colleagues of the depositor can comment on the deposit.
So the social deposit takes place within the online social surroundings of a
depositor, rather than from within a repository. By doing so, the depositor
can leverage the power of their social networks so that their friends and
colleagues can be informed about the deposit.
One of the features of social networking sites that encourages their use is
the ability for third parties to write applications that can be used from
within them. So it seemed an obvious place to start an investigation into
the potential of the social deposit. Hence the SWORDAPP Facebook Repository
Deposit Tool was born.
- http://fb.swordapp.org/
This is an interesting case study that I hope will stimulate discussion
about new ways to encourage engagement with our scholars and our
repositories. It isn't intended as a particular part of a solution, just a
discussion starter.
Read more and see an example deposit at:
http://blog.stuartlewis.com/2008/11/17/launched-today-the-facebook-repositor
y-deposit-application/
(http://tinyurl.com/6nkvbg)
If you're at the SPARC IR meeting, come and find me and I'd be happy to show
you a demonstration.
Stuart
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Gwasanaethau Gwybodaeth Information Services
Prifysgol Aberystwyth Aberystwyth University
E-bost / E-mail: [log in to unmask]
Ffon / Tel: (01970) 622860
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