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After a careful assessment process, we moved the arXiv operation from Cornell University Library (CUL) to Cornell Computing and Information Science (CIS). Cornell has hosted arXiv since 2001 when its founder, Paul Ginsparg, left the Los Alamos National Laboratory and joined the Cornell faculty in the Physics and Information Science departments. Running the service has always involved a collaboration between CUL and CIS, as Professor Ginsparg and other CIS faculty lead R&D efforts through several NSF grants and other funding sources and contribute to the development of moderation policies. CIS’s mission and values provide an environment that supports arXiv as a scholarly scientific enterprise, with the need for optimum service delivery and infrastructure sustainability. As an academic unit, CIS not only spans core contemporary IT realms, such as networks, systems, robotics, and machine learning, but is also concerned with the human aspects of computing, such as human–computer interaction and human-centered design. For researchers and arXiv users, the stewardship transition did not affect any operation. But users should anticipate arXiv engaging in new partnerships to add new revenue sources, further strengthen arXiv’s current business model, and invigorate community commitment to maintaining and developing arXiv as a public good. arXiv will continue to benefit from the expertise of the CUL staff, especially in the service areas of metadata, copyright, and scholarly communication policies and best practices. Please see the arXiv Transition FAQ to learn more about the impetus and process behind the move.
Last yearIn 2017, in 2017 we embarked on the next-generation arXiv (arXiv-NG) initiative with a cornerstone grant of $450,000 from the Sloan Foundation to improve the service’s core infrastructure. Our strategy for the overall development and replacement of the infrastructure, is for incremental and modular renewal of the existing arXiv system, Classic Renewal, rather than building an entirely new system and migrating to it. Based on an assessment of various technology components and partnership options, we finalized an architecture and have been implementing some key technology components in 2018. An integral part of the arXiv-NG initiative is to consider new organizational and staffing models to ensure continuity of operations as the sustainability principles are at the heart of the arXiv-NG initiative. As we continue developing arXiv-NG, we are committed to continue arXiv's robust services.
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