ZORA Gets a New Foundation

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ZORA is the institutional repository of the University of Zurich and an important pillar of its Open Science strategy. In a joint project with UZH Informatik, we are now working on a new software solution for ZORA that will equip the platform for the future.

The “Zurich Open Repository and Archive” (ZORA) is an essential infrastructure of the University of Zurich (UZH). It is jointly operated by the University Library (UB) and Central IT (ZI) and fulfils two main functions: On the one hand, ZORA is the institutional publication database of the UZH, on which the academic report and the evaluation of the institutes are based. On the other hand, ZORA is an Open Access repository and thus a key element for the implementation of the UZH Open Science Strategy. In this function, ZORA fulfils two important goals: the distribution as well as the preservation of digital copies of the intellectual output of the UZH and its members.

Starting Position

ZORA has been in routine operation since 2008 and currently contains over 178,000 publications, which are accessed around 8.3 million times and downloaded 2.5 million times a year. The data is also used internally at UZH for the approximately 1,300 publication lists on the faculty websites or passed on externally to the “National Open Access Monitoring” (NOAM) and to many other services (SLSP, National Library, etc.).

ZORA has become the largest repository in Switzerland and has served the UZH and its researchers very well in the past years. However, the development of ZORA’s underlying software EPrints has been stagnating for quite some time, even though the requirements for a repository have changed a lot – especially due to the evolvement of Open Science in cooperation with stakeholders from the scientific community. In addition, the requirements of users in general are increasing due to the overall digitalisation trend in our society.

As a result, the replacement of the EPrints software is indicated for many institutions. Some Swiss universities have already replaced EPrints with other software or are in the process of doing so, such as the University of Bern with BORIS and St. Gallen with Alexandria.

New basic software for ZORA

The replacement of EPrints is also indispensable for ZORA. This is the only way that the UB and the ZI as operators can continue to guarantee unobstructed routine operation and continue to provide good services to the researchers at the UZH.

To accomplish this, the UB, in cooperation with the ZI, has launched a project to replace the basic software EPrints. With a team of six people from ZI and UB as well as an external provider, we plan to go online with the new basic software in 2025.

What is the benefit of the project?

The project aims to optimise the existing system landscapes and software functions as follows:

• Operation of a future-proof software that can meet new requirements
• Improved support through a broad and international community
• Use of synergies and data exchange through interoperability with other repositories in Switzerland
• Reduction of the data entry effort for UZH users and the editorial effort for the UB through automation and simplification of the workflows
• A modern and user-friendly interface in the new UZH design

What are the project’s goals?

The UB wants to provide the UZH staff with as many existing functionalities as possible, but at the same time it must remain adaptable to new developments. The project therefore clearly distinguishes itself from new requirements. We follow the principle of the “Minimum Viable Product (MVP)”. Only if this would be extended after completion of the project, developments beyond today’s basic requirements can be realized (e. g. functionalities towards a comprehensive research information system or the integration of research data).

For the project, all functionalities with their workflows and processes must be precisely determined. Therefore, the project team will use requirements engineering as an opportunity to redesign existing requirements. The growing desire of the users for simplification and automation of processes in ZORA will be considered in the balance to the principle of the MVP.

Where do we stand in the project?

The project assignment was officially accepted by the ZI at the beginning of April and the project has now officially launched with an internal kick-off. The project team has already begun requirements engineering from the expert side in the UB and from the technical side in the ZI. The status in EPrints is therefore currently being documented and the target status defined.

We will report on the milestones of the project in this blog in the future.

Tessa Gerber & ZORA Team, Open Science Services UB