Australian repository grants

[Ann Okerson <ann.okerson@yale.edu>]

Date: Thu, 23 Oct 2003 08:46:47 +1000
From: Colin Steele <Colin.Steele@anu.edu.au>
Subject: australian repository grants

Media Release

THE HON PETER McGAURAN MP
ACTING MINISTER FOR EDUCATION, SCIENCE AND TRAINING
$12 MILLION FOR MANAGING UNIVERSITY INFORMATION
22 October, 2003 

Australia�s research information will become more easily accessible and
better managed thanks to more than $12 million in funding to improve
infrastructure.

The new information infrastructure will put Australian institutions in an
even better position to take part in, and lead, national and international
research projects. The funding was announced by the Acting Minister for
Education, Science and Training Peter McGauran.

"Information infrastructure supports world-class research in Australia
that is complex and continually evolving," Mr McGauran said. "It must
accommodate emerging technologies and changes in research practices,
theory and priorities.

"This funding will provide for four new projects as well as international
consultation and collaboration. The new projects will be guided and
coordinated by the newly established Australian Research Information
Infrastructure Committee (ARIIC) headed by Professor Wyatt R Hume, Vice
Chancellor of the University of New South Wales."

The agencies involved in these projects include 15 Australian
universities, Australian and international libraries, industry
representatives and international organisations. (For more details on
these projects see attached list.)

"As the projects progress I anticipate that more universities will help
develop the infrastructure and this will benefit the entire Higher
Education sector," Mr McGauran said.

The Higher Education Information Infrastructure Implementation Steering
Committee found there was a need to enhance the creation and management of
information, improve access to information resources, and facilitate the
discovery and dissemination of new information to researchers and
institutions. This funding implements these findings.

The funded projects are:

Meta Access Management System; 
Towards an Australian Partnership for Sustainable Repositories; 
The Australian Research Repositories Online to the World (ARROW); and 
Australian Digital Theses Program Expansion and Redevelopment.
Media contact: Yaron Finkelstein  0414 927 663

For more information see:

<http://www.dest.gov.au/Ministers/Media/McGauran/2003/10/mcg002221003.asp>

--------------------------------------------------------------
Colin Steele
University Librarian, Australian National University (1980-2002)
and Director Scholarly Information Strategies (2002-2003)
W.K. Hancock Building (043)
The Australian National University  
Canberra  ACT 0200
Australia

Tel +61 (0)2 612 58983
Fax +61 (0)2 612 55526
Email: colin.steele@anu.edu.au