Press Release: MMU launches open access repository

[<Grace@biomedcentral.com>]

We hope this will be of interest to the list. With apologies for 
cross-posting

Grace Baynes
BioMed Central

==================================

PRESSS RELEASE: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

27 October 2006

MANCHESTER METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY LAUNCHES OPEN ACCESS 
REPOSITORY USING OPEN REPOSITORY SERVICE FROM BIOMED CENTRAL

BioMed Central's Open Repository service has built e-space, 
Manchester Metropolitan University's institutional open access 
repository, it was announced today. The repository is freely 
available at www.e-space.mmu.ac.uk. BioMed Central's Open 
Repository service builds on the open-source DSpace technology 
platform, enhancing it with value-added features unique to Open 
Repository.

Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) is the fourth most 
popular university in the UK, according to the Universities and 
Colleges Admissions Service. MMU's institutional repository will 
allow its 39,000 staff and students working at ten research 
institutes on seven campuses, to deposit research findings and to 
share them effectively between themselves, and with their 
international colleagues. MMU will maintain complete 
administrative control over the repository whilst BioMed Central 
will provide hosting services, customization, backups and 
technical support.

Jayne Burgess, e-space Project Manager, explains why MMU chose 
BioMed Central's Open Repository service,

"We had been watching developments in UK Institutional 
repositories and decided the time was right for us to set up a 
repository for MMU. We saw this as a natural extension of the 
library role both in managing information and supporting and 
acknowledging the importance of research at MMU. We knew that a 
good deal of staff time would be required for advocacy and 
content acquisition and wanted a solution that would leave core 
staff time for these tasks and, with limited technical resource 
available to the library at this time, we considered Open 
Repository to be the most suitable option. BioMed Central 
provides a complete service with Open Repository, which means 
that whilst e-space is hosted, maintained and developed by BioMed 
Central, we retain administrative control over it. We have worked 
closely with BioMed Central to customise the website and to map 
the communities and collections to the structure of the 
University. The technical support from BioMed Central has been 
excellent and we would like to continue to work closely with them 
to make suggestions for additional and added-value service 
developments based on researchers' requirements."

Natasha Robshaw, Director of Marketing and Sales, BioMed Central 
commented,

"We are delighted to welcome MMU as a customer for our Open 
Repository service. Our expert in-house team provides a complete 
service, making Open Repository a very convenient way for the 
customer to establish and run an institutional archive. The 
service has been designed to be both flexible and cost-effective. 
Open Repository also includes tools that make it very easy for 
researchers to deposit their articles and other documents. We 
believe this is an invaluable service, and look forward to many 
other organisations coming on board in the next few months."

Value-added features of the Open Repository in addition to the 
standard DSpace functionality can include saved searches, a 
submission form using PubMed ID and external linking to Entrez 
databases. BioMed Central can also offer Open Repositories in 
different (Roman alphabet) languages, customisable submission 
forms. The service is now W3 web accessibility compliant AA.

Open Repository offers a Pilot Repository set up scheme, allowing 
customers to have working demo sites personalised to their needs 
for a 3-month, no obligation, free trial.

ENDS

Press contacts:

Grace Baynes for BioMed Central: press@biomedcentral.com or +44 
(0) 20 7631 9988

Jayne Burgess for MMU: Jayne.Burgess@mmu.ac.uk or +44 (0) 161 247 
6109

For more information about the Open Repository service, or to 
discuss setting up a Pilot Repository, please email 
info@openrepository.com

About Open Repository

Open Repository (www.openrepository.com) is a service provided by 
BioMed Central for institutions and research organisations. Open 
Repository offers professional help to institutions to quickly 
and easily build, launch, maintain, and populate their own 
repositories. The service has been designed to be flexible and 
cost-effective. BioMed Central's economy of scale makes it 
possible for institutions that could not otherwise afford to, or 
lack the infrastructure or technical capacity in-house, to set up 
repositories.

About Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU)

Manchester Metropolitan University (www.mmu.ac.uk) is a 
forward-looking university. It is proud of the exceptional 
breadth of choice it has to offer students and of its links with 
business, industry, the professions and the local communities 
that all contribute to the learning experience. The University 
has a varied population, attracting students from a broad range 
of backgrounds and countries, which contributes to its lively and 
dynamic atmosphere. The University is based across seven 
campuses, five in the Manchester area and two at Alsager and 
Crewe's MMU Cheshire. The central Manchester campuses form part 
of the largest higher education campus in the UK and one of the 
most extensive education centres in Europe.

Grace Baynes
Marketing Communications Manager
BioMed Central
Middlesex House
34-42 Cleveland Street
London W1T 4LB
T: +44 (0)20 7631 9988
F: +44 (0)20 7580 1938
http://www.biomedcentral.com/