100 · Representative Documents: Outreach and Assessment Guides
UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
Sobek Technical Aspects Broader Impacts Support
http://ufdc.ufl.edu/sobekcm/broader
Sobek Technical Aspects
Software Distribution Center
Architecture
Development
General Concepts
Metadata Schemes and Help
User Permissions
Online System Administration
Tracking
Additional Topics
Digital Scholarship Lifecycle Support
Broader Impacts Support
Publications, Presentations, and Trainings
Featured In and Recognition
Harvesting
Monthly Usage Statistics
Preservation
Migration to SobekCM
Search Engine Optimization
Credits and Acknowledgements
Code Details
Sobek Technical Aspects Broader Impacts Support
BROADER IMPACTS SUPPORT
BROADER IMPACTS SUPPORT
In addition to Digital Scholarship Lifecycle Support, the UF Smathers Libraries ensure that full socio-technical supports (e.g., people,
policies, and technologies) are properly in place to support wide public access of all materials and collections. To this end, the UF
Smathers Libraries created and use the Open Source SobekCM system to power the UF Digital Collections and Digital Library of the
Caribbean (dLOC www.dloc.com).
When used by the National Science Foundation (NSF), "Broader Impacts" has a specific intent which is explained by NSF. The
University of Florida's Office of Research also has a helpful guide for "Broader Impacts." NSF's definition is social and technical and
spans many types of activities. The SobekCM system addresses several elements of "Broader Impacts" specifically in regards to the
wide dissemination of materials because SobekCM is a preservation and access repository, ensuring long-term access to materials,
and because SobekCM is optimized for search engine indexing to ensure maximum findability. Further, SobekCM frames materials
within aggregations or collections to provide the context necessary for understanding the materials once located.
Many programs and projects supported by SobekCM create additional materials to increase impact, including lesson plans and
teaching materials, as well as direct integration with scholarly research and teaching. While these leverage the technical capacities of
SobekCM, these are social supports that are implemented by the specific program and project groups.
In addition to program or project-specific additions for impact, the UF Libraries frequently conduct training, outreach, and support for
the many partners using the UF-hosted SobekCM with UF as the technical infrastructure partner. Faculty and staff in the UF Libraries
frequently liaise with multiple partners creating opportunities for intra- and inter-institutional collaboration. Again, this is a social
support enabled by the robust technology and a social support that is tied to specific programs and/or partners as collaborative
opportunities serendipitously emerge. For all programs, projects, and partners hosted by SobekCM from the UF Libraries, the UF
Libraries are a collaborative partner working towards broader impacts.
ASSESSMENT
SobekCM provides a number of features to support reporting and measurement. Monthly usage statistics are tracked and available
online for all materials at the item, title, and collection levels (usage statistics). These are analyzed to ensure usage and promotion of
materials. An annual usability study is conducted to ensure optimal usability of all materials. Further analysis on impact is conducted
on different collections on a rotating basis to ensure maximum usage and impact for all materials.
The UF Libraries conduct additional assessments for specific concerns, programs, and projects to ensure optimal support.
ALTMETRICS
Altmetrics or alternative metrics, are new methods for measuring impact that complement existing models with citation counts.
Individual faculty and scholars, as well as research groups and institutional entities, all benefit from making their materials openly
available online as Open Access. The benefits from Open Access include higher citation rates and various broader impacts that can
be assessed through various web and social metrics.
The UF Smathers Libraries support the IR@UF as a central, visible location that is optimized for traditional library searches and for
general search engines to ensure materials can be found. All materials in the IR@UF are supported for long-term digital preservation.
Additionally, the UF Libraries provide reference support for the materials in the IR@UF and conduct outreach and promotion for the
IR@UF which further supports and promotes your materials.
For all contributors, monthly usage reports are sent out and these reports include: total number of views for all of your items, number
of views for all of your items in the past month, details for your top 10 items, and a link to view usage statistics for all of your
submitted items. To see the usage statistics for all of your items, you can login to myUFDC and select "View usage for my items" from
the main menu.
Please see the IR@UF for more information and to submit your materials.
OUTREACH, PROMOTION, AND REFERENCE
In addition to system-side supports, faculty and staff supporting the UF Digital Collections provide social supports including liaison,
facilitation, promotion, outreach, reference, and many additional and growing elements to support broader impacts for all materials
and collections.
Please contact the Digital Humanities Librarian, Laurie N. Taylor (laurien@ufl.edu and 352.273.2902), with any questions regarding
these supports.
PUBLICATIONS, PRESENTATIONS &TRAININGS
Selected recent publications, presentations, and trainings on the UF Digital Collections, Digital Library of the Caribbean (dLOC), and
related digital collections and scholarship projects are listed on the Presentations &Trainings page.
http://ufdc.ufl.edu/sobekcm/broader
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