2.3. Building and developing an institutional or thematic repository, and maximizing its value to the institution

Version 0.15 October 2012 (working draft)

Intended audience:  research managers and researchers, information managers and professionals

Under development

Digital repositories offer the opportunity for institutions and individuals to capture their research outputs in a structured way, and to make them more available to others. Collecting research outputs in a repository or properly structured website will enable effective use, reuse and long term preservation. If a site follows appropriate protocols and metadata standards the contents can be harvested by external services and exposed to the wider world. Many types of information and data may be captured and preserved in a repository. If the repository has been built in the right way, the contents can be made accessible to other users around the world by becoming a part of the global network of interoperable and exchangeable information.

These Pathways focus on best practice policy and technical approaches for the development of a repository. They also provide guidance on how to digitally capture and preserve research and other outputs, and how to ensure that the materials in a repository are made as visible as possible to be discovered by search engines. If you are involved with a development of this sort, whether your expertise is in library/information management, ICTs, research or management, these Pathways will provide guidance on delivering an effective and sustainable repository. By following them you will ensure that your repository can fulfill its purpose of making varied research outputs more accessible and ‘visible’.

These are as follows: