Scholaris
Shared service and support for the Canadian scholarly community.
Institutional repositories, and repository managers, play a vital role in the academic research environment by advancing scholarship and fostering open access to research. As a national shared repository service, Scholaris leverages local expertise to facilitate knowledge sharing, foster collaboration, and increase the discoverability and impact of Canadian research excellence.
Scholaris provides scalable infrastructure, technical expertise and community support for institutional repositories. The service uses open-source repository software (DSpace) and is hosted and managed by Scholars Portal. Participating institutions enjoy the benefits of both local and national service models: an institutionally branded repository instance with centrally managed hosting and upgrades, shared resources, and access to a vibrant national repository network.
It’s been a busy and exciting first year for the Scholaris service! As we reflect on the Scholaris Early Adopter Program and the Scholaris Network of Experts, we’re celebrating the progress accomplished in this short period.
The Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL) and the Ontario Council of University Libraries (OCUL) are seeking early adopters for a collaborative initiative aimed at developing a national repository service infrastructure called ‘Scholaris’.
The Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL), the Ontario Council of University Libraries (OCUL), and University of Toronto Libraries are pleased to announce their signing of an MOU outlining our collaborative intent to develop a National Institutional Repository Service to be hosted by Scholars Portal.
Scholars Portal installs, hosts and maintains the key technical components so you can focus on your core work.
Data is hosted and securely stored at Canadian university-owned and operated data centres.
Regular upgrades and modern architecture mean your repository benefits from the latest technological developments.
Scholaris is shaped and strengthened by shared expertise and engagement with our vibrant repository community.
Scholaris is being developed by the Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL), the Ontario Council of University Libraries (OCUL) and the University of Toronto Libraries (UTL), in collaboration with the Shared Repository Infrastructure Advisory Committee (SRIAC), regional consortia, academic libraries, repository practitioners and communities of experts. The shared technical infrastructure is hosted and managed by Scholars Portal.
We are currently rolling out an Early Adopter Program, which includes negotiated consortial pricing for participants.
Please contact us if you are interested in the program and would like to discuss anticipated costs for set up and on-going service fees.
More detailed pricing information will be shared as the service model evolves through our work with Early Adopters and expert groups.
Frequently Asked Questions
Scholaris is an opt-in repository service that provides technical and community infrastructure. It is not a unified institutional repository as each participating institution receives their own DSpace instance. These parallel instances are hosted and managed by the Scholaris technical team through a centralized service delivery model.
Scholaris institutions receive a local, institutionally-branded repository instance that benefits from regular upgrades, maintenance, reporting, and shared repository expertise, resources, and documentation.
Find more information and updates about the development of the service on the Scholaris wiki.
Is it possible to search across repositories through Scholaris?
We believe in the value and utility of searching across repositories, and intend to participate in future explorations of a discovery layer application for Canada.
Scholaris is currently working with institutions to develop the service through an Early Adopter program. Participation in the Early Adopter program is open to research libraries at Canadian universities and members of the Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL). Once the service is fully operational, we anticipate expanding participation to eligible non-member research organizations across Canada.
Which version of DSpace will Early Adopters be migrated to?
Current Early Adopters will be migrated to DSpace 7.6.3. Upgrades to the software will be performed by Scholars Portal, with timelines to be determined and communicated by the Scholaris service team, with guidance from the Shared Repository Infrastructure Advisory Committee (SRIAC) and relevant repository groups.
Because each institution receives its own DSpace instance, the theming is up to you! You can design or keep your current branding, including the name of your current repository. Note that a new URL will be created:[institutionidentifier].scholaris.ca. and redirects put in place.
Can we join Scholaris if we don’t currently have an institutional repository?
Yes! Scholaris has been designed to support multiple repository use cases. The Scholaris team can set up a new repository if your institution currently doesn’t have one.
Can we join Scholaris if our repository is currently on a different platform (i.e., not DSpace)?
Yes! Scholaris has been designed to support multiple repository use cases. Our team can migrate your repository from another platform to DSpace.
Please note that Scholaris pricing is dependent upon the type of use case and the complexity of the migration. If you’d like to learn more about what joining Scholaris could look like for your institution, please contact us.
Our institution is interested in being an Early Adopter. What are the next steps?
Thank you for your interest in joining Scholaris! We recommend completing the submission form so we can learn more about your repository needs. This will also help us determine future cohort sizes and timelines. Alternatively, you can always contact us to learn more about the program.
Get in touch!