Kay Flowers from Idaho State University is talking about Digital Repositories.

Digital Libraries: are distinguished from info retrieval systems because they include more types of media provide additional functionality and services, and include other stages of the info life cycle (from creation through use)

DLs are also thought of as a new form of information institution or as an extension of the services libraries currently provide.

Digital Repository: A trusted digital repository is one whose mission is to provide reliable, long-term access to managed digital resources to its designated community, now and in the future.

Portico (parallel to JSTOR) – creating a trusted dig repository for the publishers of electronic material (digitally born materials). Not a database product; not traditional access. They consider it like insurance, so there’s a back up in case the publisher goes away…. An
archive for digitally born materials. Publishers working w/ them: Elsevier, OReilly. Kay’s opinion: publishers paying a 3rd party for archiving (outsourcing it). But they are going to the libraries to charge them, too.

Institutional Repository — A digital collection or collections capturing and preserving the intellectual output of a single university or a multiple institution community of colleges and universities. Four characteristics:

1. Institutionally defined
2. Scholarly
3. Cumulative and perpetual (preservation)
4. Open and interoperable

Cliff Lynch says it’s a “set of services that a univ offers to the members of its community for the mgmt & dissemination of dig materials created by the insitition & it’s community members. Essentially an organizational commitment to the stewardship of these dig materials, including long-term preservation where appropriate, as well as organization and access or distribution.

What’s in an Inst Repository?

theses dissertations
Pre-prints/post-prints
Scholarly publications
Data
Technical reports
Learning objects
Video and audio
Simulations

Sample Repositories at the Directory of Open Access Repositories (OpenDOAR)

Why do this? Scholarly publication. It’s a different model of scholarly publication,
but it could be done. Right now the publishers coordinate most of the process, but this new model would not rely on the publishers much, but would still include important pieces such as peer review.

Another reason to do it: Data archiving. It provides a place for data to sit and be accessible; even data like old theses that were created with software or by a means that makes them inaccessible now.

Other Reasons:

Institutional Recognition (important in higher ed)
increased access leads to increased recognition of institution
Increased availability leads to increase in citation
Could aid in establishing reputation for funding
Could aid in accreditation

Challenges for Institutional Repositories

Identifying software/hardware platforms
Open source options: DSpace, Fedora
Establishing standards for identification (i.e. Metadata, Open Archive Initiative (OAI)
Planning for migration - what will you do when the technology advances so far that the old data can’t be migrated?
Policy development
Will you force faculty to participate?
Copyright – many faculty sign away their rights in order to get published. Becomes a
training/ed issue.
If someone puts something in, can they take it out? Can they edit it?
Persuading faculty to participate

Open access to research — Bill pending in congress; publishers against it. Justify double-billing tax payers: tax funds used for research, then there is a charge to access the research publications (usually paid with tax funds through libraries)