Things to Consider When Managing an Institutional Repository

King Library 213

Traditionally, academic libraries have held the responsibility of housing, disseminating, and preserving the scholarly output of their universities. These materials, including but not limited to student dissertations and theses, as well as faculty publications were--and still are--primarily held in the libraries’ archives and special collections departments. With the unstoppable march of bits and bites, academic libraries experience an increasingly strong push towards preserving digital records of scholarly output in an electronic Institutional Repository (IR). While undeniably an exciting and versatile invention with such benefits as the increase in accessibility and findability; the ability to disseminate across borders with a few clicks; and the capability of providing long-term preservation and persistent access, establishment and management of an IR is at the same time an intimidating endeavor. San Jose State University started down the path to an Institutional Repository in 2008 and faced many stumbling blocks along the way, some of which have been overcome and some which remain a challenge. Crystal Goldman and Silke Higgins, co-managers of the San Jose State University Institutional Repository, will provide the audience with an overview of what it takes for the SJSU academic library to maintain and advance a successful Institutional Repository--including best practices, pitfalls, and the occasional unexpected turn of events.