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Arca Partner Benefits & Responsibilities

The following outlines the benefits and responsibilities of participation in the Arca collaborative digital repository.

Benefits

Offering educators, researchers, and learners access to a digital repository has become imperative for many Canadian organisations. Supporting a stand-alone digital repository is beyond the reach of many. However, participation in the Arca collaborative digital repository makes it possible through collaboration, cost sharing, and coordination of infrastructure and resources.

By participating in Arca, sites are able to:

  • Build for the future;
  • Coordinate digital resource management efficiently;
  • Comply with federal grant funding policies;
  • Avoid costs through centralized coordination & licensing;
  • Reinforce organisation brand position & prestige;
  • Access the Arca Administrative Centre, including technical expertise, training, communication infrastructure, etc..

Requirements & Responsibilities

Arca can only be as robust as its members; Arca participants must meet the following requirements:

  • Embrace Arca vision and values;
  • Be operational in Canada and support a commitment to the principle of open access;
  • Be a BC ELN Partner Library, meeting membership requirements for BC ELN Partner Libraries, OR
  • Belong to a consortium or organisation with an existing relationship and a signed Letter of Understanding with BC ELN, OR
  • Be a Galleries, Libraries, Archives, & Museums (GLAM) Sector organization, approved by the Advisory Committee, and able to meet the responsibilities outlined below.

Responsibilities of Arca participants include:

  • Budget for and provide a yearly Arca Service Support fee; and, where required, implementation, advanced support, additional storage or withdrawal fees; as set out in the current Arca Service Support Fee model;
  • Commit to maintaining their Arca website and collections;
  • Commit to adhering to Arca's metadata standards and practices;
  • Designate a primary organisational contact for Arca;
  • Participate actively in the Arca community of practice;
  • Participate in Arca governance as per the Arca Advisory Committee Terms of Reference;
  • Ensure that appropriate rights to upload content into Arca are obtained, and that content being uploaded does not infringe upon anyone's copyright;  
  • Assign sufficient staff to meet the above responsibilities;
  • Advocate for Arca within their organisation.

Responsibilities of the Arca Administrative Centre include:

  • Front-line troubleshooting and technical support; liaison with service provider/development community on bugs;
  • Management of the Arca enhancement process and liaison between participating organisations and service provider/development community on enhancement requests;
  • Implementation support;
  • Ongoing service support, including communications, repository staff and administrator training, coordination of service support fees, governance, and service provider negotiations.

Responsibilities of the Arca Advisory Committee include:

  • Representing the interests and concerns of its constituent organisations;
  • Providing guidance to BC ELN on digital repository development, implementation, and policy issues;
  • Setting the yearly Arca Service Support Fee;
  • Approving project budgets;
  • Bringing forward issues and suggesting improvements;
  • Carrying out research, or other work, in support of Arca and offering recommendations;
  • Communicating regularly with colleagues on Arca's aims and progress;
  • Monitoring and managing risks and mitigating threats to the viability of Arca;
  • Reporting to the BC ELN Steering Committee.

Responsibilities of the BC ELN Steering Committee include:

  • Overseeing the financial health of Arca;
  • Endorsing the Arca strategic priorities;
  • Monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of Arca;
  • Ensuring that Arca activities follow needs requirements of BC ELN initiatives;
  • Monitoring and managing risks and mitigating threats to the viability of BC ELN.

Questions about Arca Benefits & Responsibilities can be directed to the Arca Administrative Centre.