FCCN Unit Activity Manager, Paulo Lopes, explains everything about the relevance of one of our newest services – INDEXAR.
The creation of INDEXAR* – Directory of Digital Knowledge Resources results from the need to a platform capable of identifying existing digital scientific repositories and journals at a national level, in various areas of knowledge. The ultimate objective is related to the need of dissemination and promotion of access to knowledge, but also of standardization, awareness and accountability of entities in dissemination and access to information.
It is about a directory that offers the possibility of searching and browsing all registered resources through various information, such as location, software, or type of stored material. Thus, INDEXAR provides complete and credible information regarding science and culture repositories and journals existing at the national level, enabling the dissemination of recorded information, namely by international directories linked to the areas of activity of the resources registered in INDEXAR.
«INDEXAR is an important tool for […] research»
For the same reason, INDEXAR also assumes itself as an important aid in identifying digital resources relevant to research-related needs, academic research, or with the simple need to access very specific information in the area of science and culture.
The present and the future
INDEXAR was launched in July 2022 and currently provides detailed information on 237 resources, including Institutional Repositories (118), Archives, Libraries or Digital Museums (55), Thematic or Disciplinary Repositories (45), Scientific Journals (10), Aggregating Systems (6), Research Data Repositories (3).
The registration and provision of these resources is validated by experts belonging to leading entities in the respective fields of activity in which these records fall. This validation process offers added assurance of the quality and relevance of the information recorded in INDEXAR.
The first phase of the service has involved consolidating the information present in INDEXAR, involving the community and fostering cooperation that may exist between the institutions that are part of the directory, enhancing the sharing of policies, good practices, management models, knowledge, among others.
New resources are expected to be registered during 2023, with particular emphasis on scientific journals. INDEXAR is also expected to play an important role as a reference or certification instrument in the development of systems or policies that require a primary source of information on digital resources.
* Project co-financed by the Operational Technical Assistance Program, Portugal 2020 and the European Union, through the European Regional Development Fund.
