Winter 2016 Updates

This week, the CDR is deploying a series of new features. These features are aimed at making our system easier to use, both from a staff and end user perspective.

User Interface Updates

The first thing that you will notice is that the CDR has a new look. After conducting some user experience research over the past year, we have updated our user interface, focusing on the homepage and header, to make it easier and more pleasant to use.
Prominent links to self-deposit forms make it easier for faculty and students to share their work through the CDR. In addition to open access articles and student papers, the CDR now accepts datasets and conference posters and presentations. Links for navigating through the collections (including browsing and searching) have stayed in the same location, while the other menu options (such as the “Log In” and “Contact” links) have been moved to a “top bar” navigation menu.

The new CDR homepage design.
The new CDR homepage design.

Upgraded Self-Deposit Forms

Forms for depositing your student or faculty papers will also look a little different. We have upgraded to a new application for building these forms. Apart from a few stylistic changes , this upgrade should go relatively unnoticed by users. The URLs for each specific form will remain unchanged, and students and faculty will still be able to upload the same file formats and enter the same information as before.
There is a new form for depositing datasets, allowing the UNC community to upload datasets under 500 MB to the CDR, have DOI’s minted and assigned, set embargoes to delay access, and link to related resources. There is also a new form for depositing posters and presentations, which lets the UNC community share the work that they present at conferences through the CDR’s open access platform.

New! Staff Deposit Forms

Staff will also notice a new option to ingest digital objects to the CDR: “Add Work”. This option will allow you to ingest to the CDR and add minimal description by filling out form fields. It also allows you to ingest works with multiple files, such as a preservation master with supporting documents or access copies. There are three types of works that can be added using this new feature: generic works, images, and continuing resources (such as serials).

The "Add Work" option in the CDR admin interface.
The “Add Work” option in the CDR admin interface.

Other Technical Improvements

We have also updated to MODS 3.6 for our descriptive metadata. This update includes the new subelement <nameIdentifier> under <name>, allowing us to display author identifiers like ORCID IDs.

Questions? Issues?

If you have any questions, comments, or bugs to report regarding these updates, please contact us.

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