For the past two years the Glasgow School of Art (GSA) have been heavily involved in improving the management of their research outputs. They have been supported through funding from JISC that enabled them to develop an improved research repository, moving away from a standard Filemaker Database to an EPrints enabled repository system. Much of the initial development of the repository focused on the ability to embed the system within the research ethos at GSA. This has been enhanced and aided by web based technology. Recently the focus has shifted towards the management of the data within the repository in relation to its use on an internal and external scale.

By its very nature, research in the arts is highly complex and varied, often comprising a wide variety of outputs and formats which present researchers, information managers and technology teams with many discipline specific issues. The methods and processes which generate this research information are just as varied and complex. Research in the arts relies heavily on sketchbooks, logbooks, journals and workbooks. The often physical nature of research in the arts and its security and preservation also presents researchers and curators with significant problems and greatly increases the risk of data loss and deterioration. Alongside this data, a wide range of related research documentation and protocols are also created. Research repositories are therefore integral to the process of data management. RADAR has been implemented at GSA and research staff are using the repository to upload details related to their research outputs. Textual information alongside evidence of research outputs are present and integrated into the repository using standard EPrints capabilities that have been ‘kulturised’ (http://kultur.eprints.org/) to enhance the uploading of arts related data.