Librarians at universities in North Carolina are beginning to consider whether to establish electronic repositories where faculty and students can deposit copies of their scholarship for preservation and world-wide access. This article addresses a number of questions and concerns that arise, especially for librarians at smaller institutions, as they consider implementing an institutional repository (IR) program. Does a given institution have enough scholarly content to warrant building an IR? What does an IR provide that is not already available from publishers and database providers? Why would anyone search an IR? Is an IR too costly for a small institution with a limited budget to set up and maintain? The author argues that while building an IR collection requires a significant commitment in staff resources, the outcome of making the collective scholarship of North Carolina open access through IRs will be immensely beneficial to scholars, hosting institutions, students, and citizens of North Carolina and beyond.
Posted by
Gavin Baker at 3/08/2008 05:02:00 PM.
The open access movement:
Putting peer-reviewed scientific and scholarly literature
on the internet. Making it available free of charge and
free of most copyright and licensing restrictions.
Removing the barriers to serious research.
I recommend the OA tracking project (OATP) as the best way to stay on top of new OA developments. You can read the OATP feed on a blog-like web page or subscribe to it by RSS, email, or Twitter. You can also help build the feed by tagging new developments you encounter.
