OAEBUDT, a Scholarly Communications Data Space

A network of publisher, library and open infrastructure organisations interested in open access (OA) book usage data came together in July 2022. The group aimed to create governance, trust, and sustainability mechanisms for a new open infrastructure to facilitate direct exchange of usage data. The Mellon Foundation funded the OA Book Usage Data Trust (OAEBUDT) project to “explore and build a data space to solve issues with distributed usage data”. Data spaces are interoperable, decentralised digital ecosystems that allow organisations and individuals to securely share and exchange data.

OAEBUDT was hosted by OPERAS-EU.

Tasha and COUNTER were part of the OAEBDUT team in the early days of the project. We remained loosely engaged throughout the project, and are hosting this page on our website so that the information is not lost.

Piloting The Dataspace

In 2025, OAEBUDT piloted a minimum viable data space. Several COUNTER-compliant report providers (JSTOR, Liblynx and Michigan Publishing) took part, as did some non-COUNTER publishers (Knowledge Unlatched, Punctum Books, and Ubiquity Press with the De Gruyter eBound Foundation). This proof-of-concept pilot program showed how organisations could manage the downstream use of their usage data.

Video recordings show the proof of concept OAEBUDT Usage Data Connector service, not a final dataspace-as-a-service product with web interface:

• Data Provider MVP Preview (<10 min).
• Data Recipient MVP Preview (<8 min).

Project Outputs

 OAEBUDT produced several work packages, all published with open licenses via Zenodo and Github:

• Think-IT provided user documentation for organisations setting up a usage data connector.
• Guiding principles and community governance documents, designed to coordinate the infrastructure’s development and stakeholder engagement.
• A participant rule book, built on community workshops and consultations, which aimed to establish and maintain trust between stakeholders.
• An International Data Space Technical Gap Analysis, which assessed existing platforms and services that may have been able to provide dataspace services.
• A minimum viable open-source data space, developed in line with emerging standards.
• Technical documentation for dataspace participants and administrators.
• Case studies and a full Pilot Evaluation and Return on Investment Analysis report by Laura Ricci and Michael Clarke of Clarke & Esposito.
• A Business Model Canvas, which identified ways to generate revenue for the dataspace and develop supporter and membership models.

More Information

OPERAS hosts a more complete version of this page.

An archived version of the related OA Book Usage Data Trust branded website is available via the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine.