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HubLab 2: Toward successful implementation of the Liferay platform in historical research
Scholarly Communication - SURFshare Tenders
Status: Completed
Aim
This project builds on the results of the 2007 SURFshare tender project Hublab - Towards online collaboration on worldwide data collection in social and economic history. The aim of this project is to determine whether – and if so how – the environments created in the context of the Hublab project are helping six teams of historians engaged in collective research at the International Institute of Social History (IISG). This involves international collaboration projects for collecting, standardising, analysing and storing data, and making it accessible (“hubs”). The experience gained by the researchers in the projects tendered for in 2007 was the basis for further improvements to the platform, in this case based on the open source package Liferay.
The fact that international collaboration is involved means that the need for an online collaboration environment is considerable. Experimentation with such a collaboratory took place in the context of SURFshare.
Results
The open source package Liferay was selected during the first project because it seems to fit in best with the primitive computer situation of some researchers in other countries. Liferay is able to deal effectively with various browsers and systems; it is a reasonably simple system; and it does not require too much ICT support. It did become apparent, however, that institutional embedding (ICT support) is indispensable.
There have been technical improvements to the platform such that the collaboratories are now much more user-friendly. A number of innovations are now offered to the large community of Liferay users as open source.
The project included an extensive survey of users. This showed that the collaboratory is much appreciated and well used. That use is restricted, however, to storing and sharing scholarly information and exchanging news. Users do not feel that the communication options provided have any added value. They prefer to stick with e mail and discussion forums. The nature of the collaboration – voluntary, irregular activity – also plays a role in whether online collaboration is successful. The project coordinators also have an important role (as models) where the success of the collaboratory is concerned.
The results of the user survey were also used in scholarly presentations and publications, for both the scholarly dynamicists and the historians who use the collaboratories.
Based on the experience gained and the user survey, the project formulated recommendations for the successful implementation of an online collaboratory.