At NIME we have a large archive of the conference proceedings, but we do not (yet) have a proper repository for instrument designs. For that reason I took part in a workshop on Monday with the aim to lay the groundwork for a new repository:

NIMEhub: Toward a Repository for Sharing and Archiving Instrument Designs [PDF]

This workshop will explore the potential creation of a community database of digital musical instrument (DMI) designs. In other research communities, reproducible research practices are common, including open-source software, open datasets, established evaluation methods and community standards for research practice. NIME could benefit from similar practices, both to share ideas amongst geographically distant researchers and to maintain instrument designs after their first performances. However, the needs of NIME are different from other communities on account of NIME’s reliance on custom hardware designs and the interdependence of technology and arts practice. This half-day workshop will promote a community discussion of the potential benefits and challenges of a DMI repository and plan concrete steps toward its implementation.

**Reference
**McPherson, A. P., Berdahl, E., Lyons, M. J., Jensenius, A. R., Bukvic, I. I., & Knudsen, A. (2016). NIMEhub: Toward a Repository for Sharing and Archiving Instrument Designs. In Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces For Musical Expression. Brisbane.

BibTeX

@inproceedings{mcpherson_nimehub:_2016,
    address = {Brisbane},
    title = {{NIMEhub}: {Toward} a {Repository} for {Sharing} and {Archiving} {Instrument} {Designs}},
    abstract = {This workshop will explore the potential creation of a community database of digital musical instrument (DMI) designs. In other research communities, reproducible research practices are common, including open-source software, open datasets, established evaluation methods and community standards for research practice. NIME could benefit from similar practices, both to share ideas amongst geographically distant researchers and to maintain instrument designs after their first performances. However, the needs of NIME are different from other communities on account of NIME's reliance on custom hardware designs and the interdependence of technology and arts practice. This half-day workshop will promote a community discussion of the potential benefits and challenges of a DMI repository and plan concrete steps toward its implementation.},
    booktitle = {Proceedings of the {International} {Conference} on {New} {Interfaces} {For} {Musical} {Expression}},
    author = {McPherson, Andrew P. and Berdahl, Edgar and Lyons, Michael J. and Jensenius, Alexander Refsum and Bukvic, Ivica Ico and Knudsen, Arve},
    year = {2016},
    file = {McPherson_et_al_2016_NIMEhub.pdf:/home/alexarje/Dropbox/Reference/Zotero/McPherson et al/McPherson_et_al_2016_NIMEhub.pdf:application/pdf}
}