EPrints version 3 unwrapped

A presenter begins by talking about how newspapers provide access to information. "What you expect is for the various articles to be stored and presented in a format that makes it easy to access", he says, while mournfully arranging scraps of a torn newspaper page in his hand. "And that is exactly what you get". With a flick of his hand the scraps are magically transformed into a complete newspaper page. Audible gasps from the audience. Not because this is the most original trick, but because up to that point the audience had perhaps thought the unannounced presenter was a member of the EPrints team. Now it was clear he was not, but with rapt attention the magician pointed out that EPrints provided magic of its own: "The same principle applies to your research output: if it isn't stored and available as open access then the world will look and eventually give-up. EPrints as you are probably already aware is the solution to that problem, and EPrints version 3.0 is a more flexible and easier-to-use version of the world's most popular repository software."

So began the unwrapping of EPrints version 3 to a receptive crowd of users and prospective users among the Christmas lights of central London.

We tend to think of repositories as being fairly static, but this view hides a high degree of social interaction which is only going to grow. Repositories will be at the heart of a huge amount of data creation and movement, both into and out of repositories, from data creation services, to user applications like citation managers and discovery services such as OpenURL. In EPrints v3 this movement of data is supported by plug-ins, which are clearly going to have an enormous impact. Plug-in applications are independent of the core EPrints software, and can therefore be written by third-party developers.

With its range of import and export plug-ins already growing, EPrints v3 is taking interoperability, adaptability and ease-of-use to a new level for repositories. In fact, there were concerns that users may be confused by too many import and export plug-ins. The answer to repository managers, as with so many of the issues highlighted, is that v3 puts you in control. Whether it's a plug-in list, a list of licences, or a list of media types that can be deposited, the administrator can edit, shorten or hide the list, or make the list available at a more appropriate point in a customised workflow. Version 3.1 due in the second quarter of 2007 will make this even easier to manage from a Web interface.

A brand new facility for name authorities that allows author names [demo] and even journal titles [demo] to be autocompleted after a few keystrokes recognises the need is to make fewer demands of users. This approach will be extended with automatic extraction of metadata from uploaded files, due in v3.1.

What's the opposite of an embargo? It's when the paid-for license of a teaching object expires. It's not open access, but it shows repository managers are anticipating how they can use the new features of EPrints to put the repository at the heart of information management in the institution.

Overall, the meeting provided constructive feedback that has initiated a new round of requirements gathering, and generally delegates sounded positive about the prospects for the new version.

We have peeked under the Christmas wrappers and seen that EPrints v3 looks exciting. The v3 roadshow moves to San Antonio in January for the full launch.