Slides from talk given at OR2012 (Open Repositories) at the University of Edinburgh; detailing the creation and work of the UK repository worker's professional body UKCoRR.

1. The Stars Like Dust
Establishing and Maintaining an Effective
Independent UK Repository Workers
Organisation
Gaz J Johnson
Chair, UK Council of Research Repositories
@llordllama
@ukcorr
Open Repositories 2012, Edinburgh
www.ukcorr.org 9th July 2012

2. Pebble in the Sky
 “UKCoRR has a vision of the work of repository
management as a professionally recognised and
supported role within UK research institutions.”
 Independent body for UK repository workers
 Three key drivers
1. Promotes repository management as a recognised
and respected profession
2. Provides a forum for discussion and exchange of
experience
3. Collectively represents the views and concerns the
membership

3. Foundation
 2006
 SHERPA Plus programme of events and activity
 2007
 May: Launch meeting and Website established
 June: UKCoRR Discussion list launched
 Nov: Managing committee established
 2009
 April: First elected committee meeting and Governing
Charter
 May: Blog rolled out

4. Foundation’s Edge
 2011
 UKCoRR wins UKeIG Jason Farradane Award
 2012
 Jan: Members’ meeting and governance review begins
 March: Memorandum of understanding with DRF, Japan
 April: Website upgraded and relaunched
 May: Charter revised
 Nov: Members’ meeting at Teesside
 2013
 January: New Committee structure and governance in place

5. The Caves of Steel
 Membership of UKCoRR
 Individual not institutional
 Limited to people currently working as UK repository
administrators, practitioners, and managers
 Open to professional and para-professional staff
 Free of charge
 New applicants are lightly vetted
 Exceptions to the norm discussed by Committee
 Periodic membership reviews to check continued eligability
 Safe harbour and Chatham House Rules on list
 Remains key membership USP
 Some membership reports and blog open access

6. Members
0
25
50
75
100
125
150
175
200
225
250
275
May-07
Jul-07
Sep-07
Nov-07
Jan-08
Mar-08
May-08
Jul-08
Sep-08
Nov-08
Jan-09
Mar-09
May-09
Jul-09
Sep-09
Nov-09
Jan-10
Mar-10
May-10
Jul-10
UKCoRR Membership Levels
Sep-10
Nov-10
Jan-11
Mar-11
May-11
Jul-11
Sep-11
Nov-11
265
Jan-12
Mar-12
Representing 121 organisations
May-12
Jul-12

7. Foundation and Empire
 Lightweight operational ethos
 “More a set of guidelines…”
 Governance encourages flexibility and adaptability
 Ethical, transparent, consultative and accountable
 5 Committee Officer posts
 Light nomination and election process
 Chair, Secretary, Web & Publicity, Technical and External Liaison
 Yearly terms of office (can stand indefinitely unless challenged)
 Committee rarely meet face to face
 Governance review in progress
 Slight expansion of Committee planned for 2013-
 Office terms to become 2 years

8. All the Troubles of the World
 No fee means no funding
 Independence from funding assures no conflicts of
interest
 No membership paywall – “£1 too much!”
 But induces constraints on activity
 Lack of membership fee a USP for UKCoRR
 But
are there opportunities for a funded UKCoRR?
 Membership in paying organisations not an option
 Ethics of accepting funding a hot Committee topic
 With (great) funding comes great responsibility
(obligation?)

9. Satisfaction Guaranteed
 Facilitating exchange of best repository practice
 Lobbying scholarly publishing sector stakeholders
 Advocacy & representation of repository worker
Popularity
community's interests
 Publication of briefing papers or position
statements
 Conducting research into activities across sector
 Seeking funding for activities and development
 Membership recruitment
Source: UKCoRR Membership Survey 2011

10. Forward the Foundation
 Facilitate exchange of best practice, concerns and
solutions
 Discussion list and annual members meeting
 Engage membership regularly for insight on their concerns
 Annual membership survey seeks zeitgeist
 Communication within and without
 Enable membership representation on committees and
projects
 Facilitate stakeholder communication
 Raise visibility and impact of UKCoRR
 Raising awareness and challenging assumptions
 Positional statements and responses to developments or news
 To be more impactful, must increase our brand recognition

11. The Last Question
 The Finch Report and reactions to it
 Terminology and parlance for end users
 Repositories and CRIS interactions
 Repository search engines and optimization
 Scholarly exchange and open access
journals
 The Academic Spring

12. The Stars Like Dust
Establishing and Maintaining an Effective
Independent UK Repository Workers
Organisation
Gaz J Johnson
Chair, UK Council of Research Repositories
@llordllama
@ukcorr
Open Repositories 2012, Edinburgh
www.ukcorr.org 9th July 2012