Data Archiving Platforms: MINDS@UW

by Brianna Marshall, Digital Curation Coordinator

This is part one of a three-part series where I explore platforms for archiving and sharing your data. To help you better understand your options, here are the areas I will address for each platform:

  • Background information on who can use it and what type of content is appropriate
  • Options for sharing and access
  • Archiving and preservation benefits the platform offers
  • Compliance with the forthcoming OSTP mandate

MINDS@UW

About

MINDS@UW is the University of Wisconsin’s institutional repository, intended to capture, archive, and provide access to scholarship originating from campus researchers of any discipline. It is supported by the UW Libraries and free for all UW-affiliated researchers to use. While a wide variety of file formats are supported, this platform is best suited to handling text-based formats.

Sharing and access

Items in the repository are given a permanent URL that can be used to share the item; however, DOIs are not minted at this time. Items can be made open access (accessed free of charge by anyone, anywhere, at any time) or they can be embargoed (no access is provided until a certain time, up to a few years, has passed). Embargoed items are still discoverable since the metadata is indexed in the repository but the content will not be visible.

Archiving and preservation

The Libraries are committed to long-term preservation of all MINDS@UW items. In addition to the current backup practices in place, the Libraries are collaborating with the UW-Madison Office of the CIO to design and pilot a campus-scaled digital preservation infrastructure. This service, and the libraries’ own preservation repositories, will eventually be aligned with the Digital Preservation Network (DPN).

OSTP mandate

The OSTP mandate requires all federal funding agencies with over $100 million in R&D funds to make greater efforts to make grant-funded research outputs more accessible. This will likely mean that data must be publicly accessible and have an assigned DOI (though you’ll need to check with your funding agency for the exact requirements). Because MINDS@UW cannot provide a DOI at this time, it is not a suitable place for funder data.

The UW Libraries are always looking to improve this platform to better fit the needs of researchers. If you have a question, comment, or suggestion related to MINDS@UW, please contact repository manager Brianna Marshall.

Visit MINDS@UW.

Have additional questions or concerns about where you should archive your data? Contact us.