Athabasca River BasinResearch Institute Repository

Enhancing open access, education and research

Open Access PresentationOctober 26,2012

The Athabasca River Basin has been defined not only by its waters, its lands and its abundant natural resources but also by the people who live and work there, those who have shaped the landscape.

Importance of the ARB repositorythe Basin occupies a great proportion of the Alberta

landscape and affects waterways in the province and beyond

It affects areas related to environment, renewable and non-renewable resources, ecology, socio-economic, political and intellectual issues

It will provide a one-stop access point for acquisition of materials and resources

Defining the Research InstituteA Research Institute focuses and sustains activities in specific research areas and encourages collaboration among disciplines.

Provides identity and reputationFlexible and responsiveCreates synergy and community engagementEnvironment for mentorship and development of expertise

Source:http://www2.athabascau.ca/secretariat/policy/academic/research_institutes_policy.htm

ARBRI specificsARBRI is an interdisciplinary research centre

that studies the Athabasca River Basin and its people from a broad range of

perspectives.

VisionThe Athabasca River Basin Research Institute plays a trusted role with

Athabasca River Basin stakeholders and academia through facilitation of open and transparent interdisciplinary research and knowledge exchange on issues of key regional importance.

MissionThe Athabasca River Basin Research Institute supports interdisciplinary

research, community engagement, and knowledge transfer in the Athabasca River Basin for all stakeholders by improving awareness of past and contemporary issues, and encouraging collaboration among scientists, scholars, and basin stakeholders.

PrinciplesAdvance understanding of the basin across disciplines

Engage the community, government, stakeholders

Foster research linkages across disciplines

Communicate research results to all sectors

Disciplinary areas

Science

Social science

Global studies

Business

Governance

Land

Water

Climate

Policy

Community

Current activities related to ARBRIBibliography project (BARB)-Imperial Oil funding

Sustainability of Economic and Environment project-Alberta Rural Development Network funding

Learning Communities Project-Alberta Rural Development Funds

Blue Water Project-Royal Bank of Canada funding

Science Outreach-various funding, but mainly volunteer

Community workshops-SSHRC funding

ARBRI website: http://arbri.athabascau.ca/

Repository project—BARB

BARB: http://www.barbau.caIdentify, locate, and make freely accessible an

extensive list of research and scholarly information of the Athabasca River Basin.

Project led by Athabasca River Basin Research Institute with support from AU Library, Advancement Office, academic centres, and researchers.

We currently have more than 25,000 entries

Vision for the repositoryIt will be content-rich, fully searchable, open and accessible:

author/title/keyword and use of geo-spatial technologies

It will contain networked digitized resources involving multiple data sets (science, social science), text (reports, books, journals), images (maps, aerial and other photographs), interactive materials (podcasts, webcasts, video/audio recordings)

It will facilitate mobile accessibility (geo-spatial and temporal linkages)

How we connect to physical sites

Using QR codes to learn about the Athabasca River Basin

Interactive mapping

This initiative was developed by the Athabasca Watershed Council

The map is an online virtual resource that provides information on different regions of the Athabasca River Basin

The Athabasca Watershed Council have begun to use BARB to inform their own work

How data is stored and usedThe BARB database uses open access software (

www.openarchives.org/)

Use of digital collection management software (CONTENTdm)

Use of Google charts, maps, analytics and other applications

Use on mobile devices

Future directionsDirect access to retrieval of full-text resources

Completion of transferring data and resources from out-of-date software formats

A single source for retrieval of digitized materials