Making Institutional Repositories Work

Quickly following what many expected to be a wholesale revolution in library practices, institutional repositories encountered unforeseen problems and a surprising lack of impact. Clunky or cumbersome interfaces, lack of perceived value and use by scholars, fear of copyright infringement, and the like tended to dampen excitement and adoption.This collection of essays, arranged in five thematic sections, is intended to take the pulse of institutional repositories-to see how they have matured and what can be expected from them, as well as introduce what may be the future role of the institutional repository. Making Institutional Repositories Work takes novices as well as seasoned practitioners through the practical and conceptual steps necessary to develop a functioning institutional repository, customized to the needs and culture of the home institution. The first section covers all aspects of system platforms, including hosted and open-source options, big data capabilities and integration, and issues related to discoverability. The second section addresses policy issues, from the basics to open-source and deposit mandates. The third section focuses on recruiting and even creating content. Authors in this section will address the ways that different disciplines tend to have different motivations for deposit, as well as the various ways that institutional repositories can serve as publishing platforms. The fourth section covers assessment and success measures for all involved-librarians, deans, and administrators. The theory and practice of traditional metrics, alt metrics, and peer review receive chapter-length treatment. The fifth section provides case studies that include a boots-on-the-ground perspective of issues raised in the first four sections. By noting trends and potentialities, this final section, authored by Executive Director of SPARC Heather Joseph, makes future predictions and helps managers position institutional repositories to be responsive change and even shape the evolution of scholarly communication.

Quickly following what many expected to be a wholesale revolution in library practices, institutional repositories encountered unforeseen problems and a surprising lack of impact. Clunky or cumbersome interfaces, lack of perceived value and use by scholars, fear of copyright infringement, and the like tended to dampen excitement and adoption.This collection of essays, arranged in five thematic sections, is intended to take the pulse of institutional repositories--to see how they have matured and what can be expected from them, as well as introduce what may be the future role of the institutional repository.

Institutional repositories remain key to data storage on campus, fulfilling the academic needs of various stakeholders. Demystifying the Institutional Repository for Success is a practical guide to creating and sustaining an institutional repository through marketing, partnering, and understanding the academic needs of all stakeholders on campus. This title is divided into seven chapters, covering: traditional scholarly communication and open access publishing; the academic shift towards open access; what the successful institutional repository looks like; institutional repository collaborations and building campus relationships; building internal and external campus institutional repository relationships; the impact and value proposition of institutional repositories; and looking ahead to open access opportunities.

Institutional Repositories focuses exclusively on institutional repositories at colleges and small universities by collecting relevant survey data about the planning, funding, staffing, and implementation of repositories at these institutions, as well as documentation on best practices, policies, guidelines, and other information germane to the deployment of an institutional repository in an environment focused primarily on teaching. Where the repositories of research universities tend to focus on the work of faculty and researchers within the institution's community and provide access to their accumulated preprints, post-prints, datasets, and other research output, the repositories at smaller institutions often feature student theses and dissertations, honors papers and capstone projects, courseware and other teaching materials, student and faculty published journals, archival materials, and other content that better reflects the teaching and student-focused missions common at smaller schools. Institutional Repositories collects some of the techniques and solutions unique to their size that colleges and small universities have found, including shifting the focus of collection to student research, joining other schools in consortiums to offset costs, creative combinations for staffing, and creating new methods for increasing faculty participation.

Bibliometrics and altmetrics are increasingly becoming the focus of interest in the context of research evaluation. The Handbook Bibliometrics provides a comprehensive introduction to quantifying scientific output in addition to a historical derivation, individual indicators, institutions, application perspectives and data bases. Furthermore, application scenarios, training and qualification on bibliometrics and their implications are considered.

This landmark collection will help readers understand the open access movement, open data, open educational resources, open knowledge, and the opportunities for an open and transformed world they promise.

Here’s what you need to know to establish your library’s place in the new collaborative research arena by adapting existing library services and practices as well as adding new support services.

The Driver’s Guide is a practical guide for repository managers and institutions who want to build their own repository.