Developing a sustainable institutional repository

Description/Abstract

This paper will provide an assessment of the factors involved in the development of sustainable platforms and processes for institutional repositories, drawing on the experience of the team at the University of Southampton and from project initiatives in the UK. It will look at the fundamental integration of repositories into the cultural, financial and technical structures of institutions to promote healthy repository growth. How do we effectively link repository development to institutional strategies, develop value-added services to meet the needs of users and contribute to an interoperable global infrastructure? Can we develop supportive policies to breed user-confidence and promote open access whilst recognising the importance of intellectual property and copyright issues? We will explore these questions looking at advocacy tools and techniques and advancements in software development. We will also look at the diversity of research communities and ways librarians can work effectively with researchers to move from "advocacy" models to a genuine partnership approach.