Merging Subject-Specific Searches of CLARIN and DARIAH in CLARIAH-DE: Challenges of Technical Integration

CLARIAH-DE as merger of the national research infrastructures CLARIN-D and DARIAH-DE faces integration challenges on various levels: cultural, technological, structural. This presentation examines the technological level by highlighting examples with a technological or infrastructural background.

We distinguish three levels of integration when looking at CLARIAH-DE: The basic infrastructure components, such as AAI, helpdesk or monitoring. The application integration, where tools, having a background in one of both projects, are connected with relevant applications of the other. And finally the data integration, where we look at the subject-specific searches in detail. The level of infrastructure components often predetermines the outcomes, e.g. AAI, helpdesk have worked out really well, application integration is case-dependent, data integration is difficult. We detail the last category by taking a closer look at merging the subject-specific searches in CLARIN-D and DARIAH-DE, explain taken choices made, taking the legacies of both CLARIN-D and DARIAH-DE into account and try to relate to the European arena (ERICs, EOSC, SSHOC) as well.

For all categories, one has to differentiate between maintainer- or provider-related outcomes and user- or research-related outcomes. What should be the priority of any research infrastructure: to consider the potential trade offs between user/researcher related goals and provider goals. We stress, that in case of doubt, the researchers' objectives have to stand in the focus.

The self-concept of CLARIAH-DE is important in this regard: a data centre comes with other resources, knowledge, motives as a research institution; a research infrastructure - like CLARIAH-DE - is something in between. We discuss whether this is an advantage or disadvantage or both.

CLARIAH-DE is funded by the Federal German Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) from 2019-2021 under the grant agreement numbers 01UG1610 A to I. This talk was presented at a joint DANS/CLARIAH-NL meeting on March 23rd 2021.