A Consortial Model for Research Data Services Using Dataverse

The Texas Research Data Repository is a multi-institutional project of the Texas Digital Library (TDL) to develop a statewide data repository for Texas universities. The TDL is developing the data repository service with guidance from its 22 members through a series of cross-institutional working groups. It has sought to respect the spirit of "loose federation" that has guided the TDL's deployment of services over its history, honoring the need for local control over workflows while creating a meaningful shared service. In this spirit, TDL is implementing a pilot repository, using open source Dataverse, that will be collectively managed by representatives at TDL member libraries, marrying the benefits of a single repository (i.e., operation at scale) with local institutional control of associated services. Following a pilot in spring 2016, the group will assess the service and make recommendations to refine it prior to a production launch. In this presentation, members of the TDL Dataverse Implementation Working Group will discuss the repository's system architecture and its unique hybrid service design, which leverages the structure of "distributed control" inherent in Dataverse. The group will also reflect on lessons gleaned from the pilot and subsequent assessment.