Technical
Complete development issues from 2012-09-21 Scientific Advisory Board meeting - The SAB agreed to a number of changes in the way arXiv should send emails to moderators and control user selection of categories. Changes also add the ability for moderators to comment on and put submissions on "hold" without the need for arXiv admin interaction, a first step toward empowering moderators though more direct facilities. Work was started in 2012 and will be completed in early 2013.
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Alerting system - The email alerting system remains popular but the mechanisms for subscription management are outdated. Users should be able to see and control their subscriptions from their user account page. New software will be developed to replace the extremely old and hard to maintain software implementing the current email subscription system.
User Support and Moderation
Establish a new Physics Subject Advisory Committee - Physics moderation has become overly dependent on a few active physics moderators, especially Paul Ginsparg. The current Subject Advisory Committee in physics is dormant. The arXiv Scientific Advisory Board is engaged in an effort to identify additional moderators and seek new leadership within the arXiv physics community.
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Define new tools and interfaces for moderators - Work with existing moderators to gather and refine requirements for new tools and interfaces to support their work. Existing processes are in need of enhancement or replacement as we upgrade moderation processes and work to improve moderator efficiency and convenience.
Governance
Form the first MAB - Make MAB appointments in January'13
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Develop reserve fund policies - The purpose of the arXiv reserve fund is to support unexpected expenses to ensure a sound business model. Currently, arXiv has a reserve fund of approximately $125,000 accumulated during the last two years due to unexpected staff vacancies and other savings, such as transition to virtual servers. The includes a contingency line ($50,000-$100,000 per year); however, the Cumulative Operating Contingency balance does not factor in the potential expenditures that will be charged against this account in support of unforeseen expenses. We will discuss the desirability of establishing a minimum and maximum contingency fund levels. The financial projections assume that the membership fees will increase at an average rate of 2 % per year. Ideally, membership fees should decrease as the number of participating institutions increases. This is one of the reasons we would like to identify an ideal contingency amount so that we will know when to stop accumulating and start reducing membership fees. We need to develop policies about how contingency funds will be used and how the account will be structured (e.g., funds needed for closing the business versus development funds - also a part of the reserve funds to create an endowment & the interest can be use the interest for reducing membership fees).
Business Planning
Define a R&D agenda and seek external funds to advance arXiv - So far, CUL's sustainability planning efforts focused on arXiv's operational budget to support the core services and arXiv's strengths in order to stay mission-centric. One of the key goals ahead of us is to define a research agenda for arXiv. We'll seek input from the advisory boards, users/scientists at large, and information scientists. We will develop a methodology for making decisions about arXiv's R&D projects and partners. One of the challenges will be maintaining/developing arXiv as a distinct system vs. envisioning it as a part of a joint scholarly communication infrastructure (interoperability, research data, tracking funding sources, etc.). This is likely to be a potential tension area between the library community and scientists.
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- Desired outcomes and success measures to measure progress (for instance, dynamics of the governance model, level of financial support, enhancements to arXiv, improvements to moderation system, etc.).
- Assessment model to gauge and report success based on the identified outcome measures.
- Plan a five-year review process to enable CUL to conduct a comprehensive self-evaluation with input from the Simons Foundation, MAB, SAB, and other key partners.
Communication
Put in place a systematic and regular communication strategy for MAB and SAB - Communication and follow-through are essential - don't promise anything to SAB or MAB members if you'll not be able to fulfill. Make sure to follow up - whether it is relaying progress or delays (or rejecting a recommendation). When you hear ideas and get suggestions from SAB and MAB and don't follow their advice, you need to at least explain why. List priorities and communicate them prior to meetings. Implicitly seek help in setting priorities. Be clear with your expectations (seeking input vs. help CUL make a decision by selecting one of the alternative strategies). Explain that CUL has limited resources and set expectations accordingly. If there are requests that Cornell cannot meet, someone (member) may be able of pay. Seek partnerships and other revenue streams.
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