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[EP-tech] Re: Use of e-print request button
The Request-a-copy feature has been built the release version of EPrints since V3.0 (2007). 

Tim

On 27/06/13 14:05, Stevan Harnad wrote:

Dear Michael,

Thanks ever so much for this very useful information on implemementing
the e-prints Button <http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/268511/> for DSpace
<https://wiki.duraspace.org/display/DSPACE/RequestCopy>.

Could others please also send the corresponding information for
implementing it for EPrints <http://wiki.eprints.org/w/RequestEprint>,
where it originated?

That will cover most of IR space worldwide, and other softwares will be
inspired to implement it too.

Many thanks,

Stevan Harnad

On Thu, Jun 27, 2013 at 5:25 AM, Michael White <michael.white@stir.ac.uk
<mailto:michael.white@stir.ac.uk>> wrote:

    Hi Joseph,____

    __ __

    Apologies for the delay replying – but I’m not sure if you got any
    other replies, so thought I’d chip in with my experiences of using
    “Request a copy” with DSpace (it looks like you are using DSpace,
    although we are still using the JSPUI not the XMLUI).____

    __ __

    We implemented the DSpace “Embargo” and “Request a copy” add-ons
    back in their earliest days (around 2007) when we introduced our
    Institutional Policy that required immediate deposit of full text of
    Journal Articles to the repository on acceptance – obviously, due to
    Publisher embargoes, it isn’t really possible for a policy like that
    to be successful without a method to handle embargoes/copy requests
    . . .____

    __ __

    As we have upgraded through the versions of DSpace, I have simply
    tweaked our existing implementation of the Request a copy add-on to
    make it work in the latest version (a process I have just completed
    for v3.1 this week!) – i.e. we are still running our own, locally
    customised version of the original version of the “Request a copy”
    add-on, so I can’t comment on the later releases of this add-on. I
    do know though, from a discussion just this week on the DSpace Tech
    email list, that colleagues at a Spanish institution are just
    putting the finishing touches to a release of the latest version of
    this add-on for the XMLUI interface . . . .____

    __ __

    Of course, DSpace handles “Embargoes” out of the box now (in a
    different way to the original add-on we installed), so I’ve had to
    extend the Request a copy add-on to be able to deal with Embargoes
    implemented using the 2 different methods. Personally I believe that
    “Request a copy” is the other side of the Embargo coin, so I for one
    would really love to see the “Request a copy” functionality become
    part of the DSpace core at some point in the (not too distant!)
    future J____

    __ __

    Another issue that we had to address pretty quickly with the DSpace
    add-on is that, by default, it sends the email request to the
    original submitter of the item – even since our earliest days, in
    many cases, articles were deposited by departmental admins or other
    delegated “proxy-depositors” on behalf of academics, which meant the
    eprint requests were going to the “wrong” person – the email does
    include a note to say that only an author of the original article
    can respond to the request so the request should be forwarded on but
    this was far from ideal. So I added a new metadata field to hold a
    “Contact Email Address” on a Publication record and extended the
    add-on to use this address if the Publication record had one, or use
    the submitter’s email if not – this has the added benefit that, if a
    member of staff leaves, we can simply update the “Contact Email
    Address” on their Publication records, and they will continue to get
    eprint requests – this is also very useful for embargoed PhDs (we
    have an eTheses mandate too), as Research Students have to submit
    using their University login (we have authentication linked to
    Active Directory which picks up their University email address), but
    Research Students usually leave just after submission, so it is
    great to be able to add an external email address in the “Contact
    email” filed so that they can receive requests after they have left.____

    __ __

    Also, I removed the facility for the “request responder” to submit a
    request to have the item’s embargo removed, as embargo removal is
    handled automatically by the system.____

    __ __

    Finally, we have recently integrated our Repository with our
    Research Management System, so submission of all Publication data
    (including “Contact Email”) is now via the RMS, and, when full text
    is attached, this is automatically pushed across to the Repository
    (subject to Workflow, policy checking, embargo setting, etc all
    carried out in RMS) – this means that all publications in our
    repository are now submitted by our RMS – therefore, without the
    ability to send eprint requests to the Contact Email in the
    metadata, all the eprint requests would be directed to the RMS’s
    DSpace account!____

    __ __

    This RMS integration has caused one issue – updates to records in
    RMS automatically update the corresponding record in DSpace.
    Unfortunately the RMS updates by removing the original record and
    adding a new record with the same handle – for normal end users,
    they don’t see a difference, but the removal and addition results in
    the associated full text getting a new bitstream ID in the system.
    However the Request a copy feature uses the bitstream ID to note
    what has been requested and what should be sent if the request is
    responded to – so if an item is updated between being requested and
    that request being responded to, the bitstream ID of the associated
    full text has changed, and the attempt to respond to the request
    fails – this generates an Internal Server Error, and I get an email,
    so I know that it has happened, and, from the token in the request
    email, I can reverse engineer what was requested and “fix it”, but
    it is a bit of a nuisance – fortunately it doesn’t happen very often
    now that things are settling down in our RMS.____

    __ __

    I can’t really comment on time savings for academics, but I know our
    academics are very happy with the service and it provides an easy
    mechanism for them to respond to eprint requests (and I’m assuming
    it involves less clicking and hunting around than responding to
    “traditional” reprint requests) . . .____

    __ __

    Bottom line, I heartily recommend this add-on and believe we could
    not run our repository without the functionality it provides! J____

    __ __

    I hope that is helpful and of interest.____

    __ __

    Regards,____

    __ __

    Mike____

    Joint STORRE Manager____

    http://storre.stir.ac.uk/____

    Michael White
    eLearning Liaison and Development (eLD)
    Information Services
    S8, Library
    University of Stirling
    Stirling SCOTLAND
    FK9 4LA ____

    Email: michael.white@stir.ac.uk <mailto:michael.white@stir.ac.uk>
    Tel: +44 (0) 1786 466877
    Fax: +44 (0) 1786 466880____

    http://www.stir.ac.uk/is/staff/about/teams/aldt/#eld____

    __ __

    *From:*Repositories discussion list
    [mailto:JISC-REPOSITORIES@JISCMAIL.AC.UK
    <mailto:JISC-REPOSITORIES@JISCMAIL.AC.UK>] *On Behalf Of *Joseph Greene
    *Sent:* 20 June 2013 10:28
    *To:* JISC-REPOSITORIES@JISCMAIL.AC.UK
    <mailto:JISC-REPOSITORIES@JISCMAIL.AC.UK>
    *Subject:* Use of e-print request button____

    __ __

    Hello,____

    __ __

    We are considering implementing an e-print request button to
    increase access, but also in the hope that we can save some time in
    certain areas researching publishers’ policies.____

    __ __

    I wonder if anyone who has implemented the e-print request button in
    the last few years would comment on your decision to implement it,
    and if you have seen any time savings as a result?____

    __ __

    Many thanks in advance,____

    __ __

    Joseph Greene____

    Research Repository and Systems Librarian____

    James Joyce Library____

    University College Dublin____

    (353 0)1 716 7398____

    (353 0)1 716 7686____

    joseph.greene@ucd.ie <mailto:joseph.greene@ucd.ie>____

    __ __

    http://www.ucd.ie/library____

    http://researchrepository.ucd.ie <http://researchrepository.ucd.ie/>____

    __ __

    __ __

    __ __

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Timothy Miles-Board
EPrints Services
School of Electronics and Computer Science
University of Southampton, UK
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