Institutional repository as an important part of scholarly communication
| Date | 09 September 2014 |
| Pages | 423-434 |
| Published date | 09 September 2014 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/LHT-10-2013-0146 |
| Author | Teja Koler-Povh,Matjaž Mikoš,Goran Turk |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science,Librarianship/library management,Library technology |
Institutional repository as an
important part of scholarly
communication
Teja Koler-Povh, Matjaz
ˇMikos
ˇand Goran Turk
Faculty of Civil and Geodetic Engineering, University of Ljubljana,
Ljubljana, Slovenia
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present the institutional repository (IR) named DRUGG
(Digital Repository of the University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Civil and Geodetic Engineering)
of the University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Civil and Geodetic Engineering (UL FGG), just from its
beginnings in 2011, and using the statistics of visits to present its merits for higher visibility of
scholarly publications on the web. The role of all stakeholders involved in the construction of this IR
is highlighted.
Design/methodology/approach – The historical overview of the awareness of researchers on the
UL FGG on worldwide scientific communication through web sites is showed from beginning in the
1990s. Using Google Analytics the statistics of visits and downloads after a year of operations is
showed, as well as the statistics of access from different networks from all over the world.
Findings – In the DRUGG repository mainly theses are archived which are usually not published
elsewhere. They are very interesting for professional engineers working in practice. The statistics
showed that 89 per cent of all visits come from public domains, while only 11 per cent are from the
home domain of the University of Ljubljana (UL).
Research limitations/implications – This paper is a case study and limited only to IR DRUGG.
It describes the steps taken in implementing the IR considering the technological infrastructure,
human resources and collaboration of the library staff with other professional and administrative
faculty units.
Practical implications – The repository is to a large extent used by the professional public and that
the use is not limited only to the home institution – UL.
Originality/value – This paper helps in planning to build an IR. It also presents an overview of
worldwide research and analysis about the influence of IRs on citations of scholarly publications to
convince the sceptical research policy makers.
Keywords Digital documents, Archives management, Digital storage,
Automated storage/Retrieval systems, Electronic information resources
Paper type Research p aper
1. Introduction
Scholarly communication is an important part of activities in academic institutions,
and scholarly publications have the central role in it (Halliday, 2001). Graham (2000)
recognizes scholarly communication as a system with three basic processes: informal
networking (e-mails, listservs, web archives), initial public dissemination of research
(e.g. conference papers or preprints) and formal publications (e.g. in prestigious
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/0737-8831.htm
Received 27 October 2013
Revised 13 January 2014
30 January 2014
Accepted 2 February 2014
Library Hi Tech
Vol.32 No.3, 2014
pp. 423-434
rEmeraldGroup Publishing Limited
0737-8831
DOI 10.1108/LHT-10-2013-0146
The construction of the DRUGG would have never been completed without a hard work of some
devoted individuals: Mojca Lorber (UL FGG, Student Office), Andrej Vitek (UL FGG, IT Center),
Mira Trebar (UL FRI), Miha Peternel (UL FRI) and Romana Hudin (UL FGG).Their contribution
is gratefully acknowledged. The authors would also like to acknowledge the in-depth review of
two anonymous reviewers that helped to substantially improve this paper.
423
IR as an
important part
of scholarly
communication
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