DataCite use cases around the world: Welcome to our new blog series shining a spotlight on how research institutions integrate DataCite infrastructure into their systems and workflows. Join us as we explore real-world examples, best practices, and the impact of the DataCite community. Lynn Woolfrey manages the research data service at DataFirst at the University of Cape Town, South Africa. Lynn also serves on the DataCite Executive Board.

Mid-October to early December 2023 saw us once again survey you, the DataCite community, about whether we service your needs in terms of the products we offer, support we provide to you, and events we organize. As a community, we are guided by the current and future priorities of our Members to ensure that we remain valuable and relevant to you.

The DataCite Ambassador Program was officially launched in late 2023 to expand our engagement with communities in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East. This initiative creates a network of dedicated volunteers that raise awareness, increase adoption, foster collaboration, and promote best practices among local communities in countries and regions where awareness of persistent identifier (PID) infrastructure is still low.

We are happy to introduce new members to the Services and Technology Steering Group, the Metadata Working Group, and the Regional Expert groups. After our call for applications in October 2023, we received numerous applications from community members eager to contribute to the work we are doing. Find out more about the new members below!

At DataCite, we make metadata for over 50 million DOIs openly available to enable the discovery of research outputs and related resources. This metadata is created by DataCite’s Members and Consortium Organizations according to the DataCite Metadata Schema. When registering a DataCite DOI, repositories submit metadata to improve discoverability and reusability. Today, we are releasing version 4.5 of the DataCite Metadata Schema.

Greetings to the DataCite community! I’m Maria Gould, and I’ve just joined DataCite as Director of Product. I’m excited to have this opportunity to introduce myself and share a bit about where I’m from and how I got here.  I live in Portland, Oregon, USA, where the city is bisected by the Willamette River.

In 2023 we launched the DataCite Global Access Fund (GAF) with the support from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative,  established to enable organizations worldwide to make their research outputs discoverable and connect to global open infrastructure. Today, we are thrilled to announce the first cohort of organizations and projects that are receiving GAF funding.

DataCite is a global community of organisations with a mission to connect research and advance knowledge. On December 8, 2023 we reached the important milestone of 3000 Repository accounts (“Repositories”) held by our Direct Members and Consortium Organizations. The journey to 3000 DataCite Repositories reflects the increasing importance of using Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) to share diverse research outputs and resources.

In 2020, the DataCite General Assembly approved the introduction of consortium membership, where a group of like-minded organizations come together to collectively participate in DataCite’s community and governance activities and use DataCite’s DOI services.

As of January 1, 2025, DataCite Members and Consortium Organizations will be required to use Schema 4 to register DOIs and update DOI metadata. Widespread adoption of Schema 4 is critical to improve DOI metadata quality. This is because Schema 4—i.e., versions 4.0 through 4.4 and subsequent minor versions—improves on Schema 3 with additions that promote metadata quality and consistency.

The journey of a year is like a tapestry, woven with threads of growth, innovation, and community. As we bid farewell to 2023, join us in unraveling some important reflections and accomplishments. Growing Together in Community Our community is experiencing robust growth, marked by growth in member repositories and a remarkable increase in DOI registrations.