Staffing and Budgets – The Wits example

Charl RobertsUniversity of the Witwatersrand

charl.roberts@wits.ac.za

Some notes

• IR development is a mandate of the Library• There is no policy which obliges academics at

Wits to submit to the IR • The Library have developed all the policies

associated with the IR (ETD Policy, IR Policy, Preservation Policy)

• At Wits we have a Library Computer Services Unit which is responsible for all technical aspects associated with the IR

Staffing

• There is no dedicated IR Manager at Wits, all Senior Librarians are tasked with finding content for and promoting / marketing the IR

• We have the following IT staff who as part of their work focus on the IR:– Web Developer– LCS Manager– Web Support

• Copyright Librarian• Technical Services – Metadata experts

Suggestions around staffing

• Involve campus ICT from the beginning• Consider the hidden costs of open source• Consider outsourcing for setup and testing,

campus ICT could then run daily maintenance• Many of the skills required might already exist

in your campus ICT units• Approaching the Schools for assistance

Costs

• Server – depends on many needs could range between R70 – 350 K

• Backup systems might be needed• Permanent staff or outsourcing costs• NRF can manage installation, upgrades and customization

(between R10 – 20 K)• Outsourcing to another company (examples @mire):

– Hosting– Installation– Customization and upgrades– Backup

Questions