http://wiki.dspace.org/index.php/DSpace+Ambassador+Meetings
February 16/17, 2010
Agenda
-First virtual meeting of the DSpace Ambassadors
-Introductions: name, country, institution, role, a bit about DSpace at institution/country
-Discuss contact/questions received so far
-Identify helpful resources
-Discuss future meetings
-Questions
Feb 16 14:00 GMT/UTC Summary
-It seems Ambassadors are not getting inquires because they are necessarily serving as Ambassadors – but they are contacted because of their affiliations with their institution/projects....not specifically the Ambassador role
-Should we do more to promote Ambassadors?
-Post (or refresh existing) reference with regional/country DSpace or related mailing lists
-Val to send DSpace comparative analysis to all Ambassadors
-Ambassadors would like a monthly meeting, same time is workable for attendees
Feb 16 at 21:00 GMT/UTC Summary
-Need for training in central USA: NITLE and @mire recommended
-Need for documentation/guidance on what DSpace tasks are not possible in DSpace (i.e. on current version, cannot delegate admin tasks like deleting content) - it was suggested that we start a page on the Ambassador Google Group for specific suggestions for documentation/guidance updates
-Discussed the common question of "which platform I should use and why?": referenced the spec sheets on duraspace.org - Val to send the comparative analysis
-Sources for help with questions when you get stuck: mailing lists, IRC (there is generally a developer or 2 hanging out there) or email Val
-Developers on the chat mentioned that the community needs some additional help for language translations, no non-English speakers on the chat, so not much feedback on it - it was suggested that we have this as a future mtg topic
-Sten to start Australian DSpace user list, everyone to post references to any other known lists on the wiki (as mentioned in the 14:00 mtg)
-On future mtgs: one suggestion that we meet every 6 months
I've posted summary notes as well as links to the IRC archive/transcript here: http://wiki.dspace.org/index.php/DSpace+Ambassador+Meetings
Feb 17 at 05:00 GMT/UTC Summary
-Contact with Ambassador made based on project/institution affiliation
Items for follow up raised during meetings:
-To facilitate networking/info sharing a suggestion was made to create a list on the wiki of all regional/country specific DSpace user lists here: http://wiki.dspace.org/index.php/DSpaceResources#Mailing_Lists. Please post lists that you are aware of here. If your region/country does not have a DSpace user list and you believe it would be useful, please post the address on the wiki link above.
-General info about DSpace - as discussed, there is a spec sheet on DSpace available: http://duraspace.org/images/specsheet_DSpace.jpg. Val also mentioned a comparative analysis of the repository platforms that she had, but the document turned out NOT to be a comparative analysis of the various repository software – instead it is a technical rating of how DSpace ranked on specific technical requirements. This study was NOT done by anyone at DuraSpace (or the previous supporting organizations, DSpace Foundation or Fedora-Commons). It was done either for or by NASA in the USA. DuraSpace personnel did provide feedback. You can find the analysis under the file section of the Ambassador Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/dspace-ambassadors/files.
If anyone is looking for comparative analysis between various repository platforms there was some good information collected by RSP (a JISC project from the UK): http://www.rsp.ac.uk/repos/software.
-Sources for help with questions it anyone gets stuck: mailing lists, IRC (there is generally a developer or 2 hanging out there) or email Val
Questions for additional discussion
-Should we do more to promote Ambassadors?
-Do we need more documentation/guidance on what DSpace tasks are NOT possible in DSpace (i.e. on current version, cannot delegate admin tasks like deleting content) - it was suggested that we start a page on the Ambassador Google Group for specific suggestions for documentation/guidance updates - Interested parties are welcome to start such a page
-Developers on the chat mentioned that the community needs some additional help for language translations, no non-English speakers on the chat, so not much feedback on it - it was suggested that we have this as a future mtg topic
-Future meetings: There was no clear answer on this, some thought a monthly mtg would be helpful, others did not. The attendance for 2 of the 3 mtgs was low (5 Ambassadors on the 1st mtg, 2 Ambassadors on the 2nd and 1 Ambassador on the 3rd mtg). Please provide feedback on your thoughts.
