Content in institutional repositories: a collection management issue
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/01435120410547968 |
| Pages | 300-306 |
| Published date | 01 August 2004 |
| Date | 01 August 2004 |
| Author | Paul Genoni |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science |
Content in institutional
repositories: a collection
management issue
Paul Genoni
The author
Paul Genoni is a Lecturer in the Department of Media and
Information, Curtin University of Technology, Perth, Australia.
Keywords
Libraries, Collections management
Abstract
Many libraries are facing the challenges to develop and manage
an institutional repository. This paper addresses the issue of
content in repositories, and suggests that librarians need to
approach the task of content development by applying some of
the procedures and skills associated with collection
management within more traditional environments. It also
considers the types of content that might be suitable for
institutional repositories, and notes that several recent
Australian reports have recommended the need for a more
standardised and regulated approach to the content of
institutional repositories. It is argued that this is inappropriate.
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Introduction
Recently, a significant interest has developed in the
concept of institutional repositories as a means by
which libraries can support the communication of
the research output of universities and other
research organisations. This interest has been fed
by a realisation that institutional repositories can
not only improve access to research related
information, but at the same time they can serve to
extend the influence of a library within a university
(Carver, 2003). The enthusiasm felt for
institutional repositories is expressed in article
titles such as “Institutional repositories: the
library’s new role” (Chang, 2003), and “Libraries
in the lead: the institutional repository
phenomenon” (Smith, 2004).
The focus to date has frequently been on the
technical and structural matters related to building
institutional repositories. This includes issues
relating to the selection of software (Day, 2003);
the application of metadata to items placed in
repositories (Medeiros, 2003); copyright in open
access environments (Bide, 2002), and the role
that repositories might play in furthering reform to
scholarly publishing by supporting the move
towards open access archives (Prosser, 2003). As
the online computer library center (OCLC) has
recently pointed out, however, the technical issues
involved in creating institutional repositories are
not necessarily difficult, and the developers of a
repository will more likely face challenges related
to the politics and culture of an institution:
The most significant challenge facing academic
libraries undertaking these institutional repository
projects is not technical ...The major challenge is
cultural. Too few initiatives include all the
stakeholders – faculty, library staff, IT staff and
instructional designers – and there is no common
view of what an institutional repository is, what it
contains and what its governance structure should
be (OCLC, 2003).
OCLC is alsoright to point to the largely unresolved
matter of content in institutional repositories.
Content-related issues will be crucial to the success
of these repositories, be they in universities or some
other institutional setting. To date, however, there
has been remarkably little consideration given to the
issue of exactly what type of material might be
suitable for inclusion in repositories; who should be
responsible for selecting this material; or how the
task of content development for repositories might
Library Management
Volume 25 · Number 6-7 · 2004 · pp.300-306
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited · ISSN 0143-5124
DOI 10.1108/01435120410547968
Received: 4 March 2004
Revised: 8 April 2004
Accepted: 13 April 2004
300
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