Five ways RO-Crate data packages are important for repositories

Research Object Crate is a linked data metadata packaging standard which has been widely adopted in research contexts.

In this presentation we will briefly explain what RO-Crate is, how it is being adopted worldwide, then go on to list ways that RO-Crate is growing in importance in the repository world:

• Uploading of complex multi-file objects means RO-Crate is compatible with any general purpose repository that can accept a zip file (with some coding, repository services can do more with RO-Crates)
• Download for well-described data objects complete with metadata from a repository rather than just a zip or file with no metadata- Using RO-Crate metadata reduces the amount of customisation that is required in repository software, as ALL the metadata is described using the same simple, self-documenting linked-data structures, so generic display templates
• Sufficiently well-described RO-Crates can be used to make data FAIR compliant, aiding in Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability and Reusability thanks to standardised metadata and mature tooling
• And if you're looking for a sustainable repository solution, there are tools which can run a repository from a set of static files on a storage service, in line with the ideas put forward by Suleman in the closing keynote for OR2023