Leiden researchers make their publications more findable via ORCID
In 2018, Leiden University Libraries (UBL) has worked on a project in which all researchers affiliated with Leiden University were encouraged to create an Open Researcher and Contributor Identifier (ORCID) for themselves. ORCID is an international system for the persistent and unique identification of academic authors. When publications are associated with an ORCID identifier, these publications can reliably be attributed to their authors, and the information about these publications can also be reused effectively. Before the start of the project, only 5% of all Leiden researchers had claimed an ORCID. At present, the coverage has grown to 82%. A large number of institutes have even achieved a percentage of more than 95%.
ORCID is demanded increasingly by academic publishers, funding agencies, universities and data repositories. As the information that is associated with ORCID ids can generally be exchanged, ORCID can help to reduce the administrative burden that is often associated with tasks such as article submission or grant reporting.
Practical Support
In the course of 2018, a broad range of activities have been carried out to promote the use of ORCID at Leiden. First of all, a large number of online information resources have been developed about ORCID. Many researchers have been approached directly with a request to create an ORCID account. The project team also offered practical support to researchers who wanted to set up their ORCID account and who wanted to connect their ORCID to LUCRIS. Since 1 July 2018, it is also mandatory for new academic staff to register their ORCID id in LUCRIS.
National an international collaboration
Many Dutch universities recognise the benefits of ORCID. In 2019, a large number of universities have joined forces in their aim to increase the uptake of ORCID within the Netherlands. The approach that has been followed in Leiden currently serves as a model for the institutions which are launching their promotional campaigns at present. Under the central guidance of SURFmarket, a national project has begun to stimulate academic publishers and funding agencies to incorporate ORCID within their core workflows. The project team also collaborates closely with the central ORCID organization, to ensure that functional requirements can be aligned effectively.
More information
More information on how to connect ORCID to LUCRIS can be found in the online manual and on the dedicated ORCID posts on our Digital Scholarship Blog. Questions about ORCID can be asked online via 'Ask a Librarian'.