Role of librarians in the
development of Institutional
Repositories
Susan Ashworth
University of Glasgow
Glasgow University
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Large research-led University in Scotland
Around 25,000 students
2,500 academic and research staff
Glasgow University Institutional repository –
‘Enlighten’
• Set up as a project in 2002, now a full service
• Dedicated staff for ‘cataloguing’, service
development and advocacy
Organisational Issues
Range of repositories
• Published peer-reviewed papers
• Pre-prints, grey literature, technical reports,
working papers
• Theses
• Website for discussion documents, news etc
Theses
• Staff and students generally very keen on
electronic theses
• Working with relevant University staff to
change regulations relating to thesis
submission
• University developing a new policy for theses
which is likely to mandate electronic deposit
• Issues relating to authenticity, third party
copyright, associated multimedia etc.
Grey Literature
• Easier to secure content of this type
• Concerns over quality control but..
• Software will enable departments to
administer their own content (if appropriate)
• Helps make material available that is
currently not easily accessible or manageable
Technical issues
• Technical issues are not trivial
• Enlighten has member of Library staff in
charge of the Technical side and we have
support from our computing service
– Installation and infrastructure
– Configuration and customisation
Software
• ePrints (published peer-reviewed papers)
• DSpace (grey literature, pre-prints,
departmental working papers and theses)
• Repositories cross-searchable
– locally & internationally via harvesters
– Google and Yahoo
Administrative Issues
Content
• Authors often happy to give content but reluctant to
self – deposit their papers
• Involves completing metadata fields and attaching
an electronic copy of the full text
• Copyright issues – we find this site very useful
http://www.sherpa.ac.uk/projects/sherparomeo.html
• Academics don’t necessarily keep versions of their
papers – have to be encouraged to do so
Organising collections
• Formats: pdf, postscript, LaTex, Word.
Convert everything to pdf
• Adding metadata – we use Library of
Congress subject headings.
• Bibliographic Services staff add metadata –
aids consistency
• Digital preservation – discussions with other
University Departments such as Archives
about creating digital preservation strategies
for the University
Access and Retention Policies
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Who can deposit
What can they deposit
Can items be withdrawn
Implications of staff movements
Cultural Issues
University Support
• Core strategic aim for the Library
• Internal high level lobbying
• University has issued a statement to staff
‘strongly encouraging deposit’
• University has funded staff to support
Repository work
• Link to Enlighten from University home page
• Now looking at funding issues especially
around the author pays method of OA
publishing
Advocacy, advocacy, advocacy
Initial strategies:
• Presentations at University committees,
meetings of research groups, departmental
meetings
• ‘Early adopters’
• Institution wide events
• Subject Librarians as Open Access
evangelists
More advocacy
• Contacting staff already making papers
available on personal web sites
• Journal approach, e.g. BMJ, Nature
• Publisher approach
• Advocacy is an iterative process
What’s in it for me? - authors
• Maximise the visibility and impact of your
research output
• Quicker dissemination of research
• Increased access to research worldwide
• Public interest
• A reliable alternative to putting publications
on personal web sites
• Some spin-offs: electronic journal (JeLit) and
host for conference (13th International
conference of Slavists)
ePrints Growth (Feb 04 - Feb 06)
120,000
100,000
Hits
80,000
60,000
40,000
20,000
0
2004
2005
Year
2006
Statistics
• To date more than 250,000 pdf downloads
• Around 20,000 pdf downloads per month
from a pool of over 750 papers
• Some papers:
8900 downloads: Forsyth, K. Language in Pictland : the case
against 'non-Indo-European Pictish'., De Keltiche Draak (1997)
7300 downloads: Ryder, G. and Ion, B. and Green, G. and
Harrison, D. and Wood, B.M. (2002) Rapid design and
manufacture tools in architecture. Automation in Construction
11(3):pp. 279-290
What’s in it for me? Institution
• Maximise the visibility of the collective
research of the University
• Argue that IR can assist in preparation for
funding allocation exercises such as UK
Research Assessment Exercise
• Can allow better management of collective
research output but some suspicion about
this
The Future
• Institutional repositories are not free
• Significant University wide service which
competes with other services
• Benefits must be clear
• External developments will be a major factor
in ensuring the success of repositories
(funding bodies, publishers attitudes,
legislation)
Open Access in Scotland
• Scottish Declaration on Open Access
launched October 2004
– all Scottish Universities are signatories
• Creating a movement in Scotland which
maximises benefits of research and HE to the
economy and cultural life of Scotland
• Open Access Team for Scotland (OATS)
• IRIScotland - project funded to create an
institutional repository infrastructure for
Scotland.
Enlighten
http://www.lib.gla.ac.uk/enlighten
Scottish Declaration
http://scurl.ac.uk/WG/OATS/declaration.htm/
IRIScotland
http://www.iriscotland.lib.ed.ac.uk/
Susan Ashworth
s.ashworth@lib.gla.ac.uk