Assessing the Value of Open Access Information Systems: Making a Case for Community-Based Sustainability Models

Abstract

In 2010, the Cornell University Library adopted a new business model to broaden the funding base for arXiv.org. Although this community-based interim model has garnered strong support, it also generated a range of questions in regard to the sustainability of open access online resources with a global user base such as arXiv. Making a case for such systems requires more than reliance on common quantitative measures that indicate submission and usage, statistics. Based on a sociotechnical systems approach, this article proposes a set of principles with which to evaluate return on investment as we consider the sustainability of open access subject repositories.

Sustainability: Scholarly repository as an enterprise

“…The sustainability planning process aims not only to investigate how to diversify revenue models but also to ensure that arXiv strives to meet a set of operational, editorial, financial and governance principles and can set an example of a transparent and reliable community‐supported service. Based on Cornell's experience in planning the future of arXiv, the following discussion proposes five sustainability principles, including the consideration of disciplinary cultures, creation of a governance structure, stability of technological components, creation of content policies and adherence to managerial best practices [1]…”

Archival adaptation to climate change

“…Issues of sustainability in the literature pertaining to archives and libraries often reference the notion of "scalability," the ability to perform at maximum capacity over the long term, with respect to economic or social sustainability, rather than environmental sustainability (Rieger, 2011;Vinopal & McCormick, 2013). It is common for archives to engage in a new activity (e.g., rapid digitization of analog content for online access) but then to find that the activity does not scale, due to understaffing and underinvestment by the parent organization, and therefore is not "sustainable."…”

Development of Linguistic Linked Open Data Resources for Collaborative Data-Intensive Research in the Language Sciences

“…The following section outlines five sustainability principles for e-science initiatives, based on Cornell University's experience in running arXiv (Rieger 2011). many disciplinary communities often mirrors various underlying differences in epistemic cultures.…”