[IRTalk] Rhodes University's Digital Commons

Mon Jun 15 12:37:19 SAST 2026

Dear Ina,

I will gladly do a webinar on this development, including addressing some
of the questions raised by you and Wouter

If you are willing to arrange the session after July.

Regards,

Wynand

Wynand Van Der Walt
Senior Manager: Innovation, Systems & Collections
Schedule a meeting with me <https://calendar.app.google/w83EUzEmS7QjBw1w8>
Rhodes University Library
t: +27 (0) 46 603 8281
c: +27 (0) 78 304 0526
Library, Artillery Road, Makhanda, 6139
PO Box 94, Makhanda, 6140, South Africa
www.ru.ac.za/library <https://www.ru.ac.za>

On Mon, 15 Jun 2026, 10:52 Ina Smith, <Ina at assaf.org.za> wrote:

> Dear Wynand,
> Thank you for sharing this. This is a very positive development and
> reflects a more mature scholarly communication ecosystem. The separation of
> platforms by content type makes sense, as research outputs, heritage
> collections, monographs, journals, conference papers and datasets each
> require different workflows and functionality.
> It would be useful to understand how the platforms will be integrated in
> terms of metadata, discovery, preservation, persistent identifiers and user
> guidance, so that the ecosystem functions as a coordinated whole rather
> than as separate systems. Can you perhaps add to this? Or how about a
> webinar on this? It would be great to see how you implement it.
> Dear Wouter,
> Thanks for sharing that CHELSA is busy undertaking a library technology
> landscape survey. It would be great to know the outcome, once ready. Is a
> national federated harvester for research output systems also on the table?
> With kind regards,
> Ina
>
> ------------------------------
> *From:* IRTalk <irtalk-bounces at lists.lib.sun.ac.za> on behalf of
> Klapwijk, WOUTER [wklap at sun.ac.za] <Wklap at sun.ac.za>
> *Sent:* Monday, June 15, 2026 07:39
> *To:* irtalk at lists.lib.sun.ac.za <irtalk at lists.lib.sun.ac.za>
> *Subject:* Re: [IRTalk] Rhodes University's Digital Commons
>
> Caution: This is an external email and may be malicious. Please take care
> when clicking links or opening attachments.
>
> Hi Wynand,
>
>
>
> Thanks for passing on the below recently. It is once again clear how many
> commonalities there are in our various software ecosystems at HE
> institutions in SA. We can even see a form of consolidation around similar
> platforms the past 5 – 10 years, which is good for ecosystem support in the
> sector.
>
>
>
> This information is also useful for the library technology landscape
> survey the CHELSA Digital Transformation and Innovation task team is going
> to undertake shortly – it will help us prepopulate it.
>
>
>
> Still so much experiences we can learn from each other, especially in this
> cybersecurity intensive and AI enhanced world we are operating in currently.
>
>
>
> Regards,
>
>
>
> *Wouter Klapwijk*
>
>
> Director: Information Technology Services | Direkteur:
> Inligtingstegnologiedienste
>
>
> *Library and Information Service | Biblioteek-en Inligtingsdiens *021-8084378
> | 0833888270
>
> Stellenbosch University | Universiteit Stellenbosch
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>
> *From:* IRTalk <irtalk-bounces at lists.lib.sun.ac.za> *On Behalf Of *Wynand
> Van Der Walt
> *Sent:* Tuesday, 09 June 2026 06:59
> *To:* irtalk at lists.lib.sun.ac.za
> *Subject:* [IRTalk] Rhodes University's Digital Commons
>
>
>
> CAUTION: This email originated from outside the Stellenbosch University
> network. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the
> sender and know the content is safe.
>
>
>
> Dear Community Members,
>
>
>
> For your information, in 2025, RULIS initiated the implementation of a
> multi-platform digital repository ecosystem to replace Vital Repository
> III. The new environment introduces DSpace (research outputs), Omeka
> (digital archives and curated heritage content), and Open Monograph Press
> (OMP) for monographs—alongside existing publishing and data platforms (OJS,
> OCS, Figshare).
>
>
>
> Platform
>
> Primary Use
>
> Purpose
>
> URL
>
> DSpace
>
> Research Outputs
>
> Open access repository for theses, articles, and scholarly works
>
> https://researchrepository.ru.ac.za/home
>
> Omeka
>
> Digital Archives
>
> Curated heritage, historical materials and exhibits
>
> https://digitalarchives.ru.ac.za/
>
> OMP
>
> Scholarly Monographs
>
> Digital publication of books and series
>
> https://monographs.ru.ac.za/
>
> OJS (existing)
>
> Scholarly Journals
>
> Peer-reviewed journal management and publishing support
>
> https://journal.ru.ac.za/
>
> OCS (existing)
>
> Conference Papers
>
> Hosting of conference proceedings
>
> https://journal.ru.ac.za/
>
> Figshare (existing)
>
> Research Data
>
> Repository for datasets and supplementary materials
>
> https://researchdata.ru.ac.za/
>
>
>
>
>
> Regards,
>
>
>
> Wynand
>
> Wynand Van Der Walt
> Senior Manager: Innovation, Systems & Collections
> Schedule a meeting with me <https://calendar.app.google/w83EUzEmS7QjBw1w8>
> Rhodes University Library
> t: +27 (0) 46 603 8281
> c: +27 (0) 78 304 0526
> Library, Artillery Road, Makhanda, 6139
> <https://www.google.com/maps/search/Artillery+Road,+Makhanda,+6139?entry=gmail&source=g>
>
> PO Box 94, Makhanda, 6140, South Africa
> www.ru.ac.za/library <https://www.ru.ac.za/>
>
>
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