Instructional Technology
Conference 2005
Proposal #23
Title: Ten Steps to an Institutional Repository: an Implementation Model
Name: Rod Henshaw & Claudia Thornton Frazer
Audience Level: Beginning, intermediate
Audience: All
Length: 40 minute presentation, followed by questions and discussion.
Abstract:
This presentation will showcase the development of a digital repository at a mid-sized academic institution (Drake University). It will show how the repository was developed as collaboration between the teaching/research and library faculty. While technical elements will be covered, the major focus will be on the organizational and implementation issues involved with the development of an institutional repository, including: issues of academic culture, policy, staffing, content selection, and funding. A ten-step implementation model will be presented, based on the Drake experience. Special attention will be given to the integration of content development into teaching and research activities.
Description:
An "institutional digital repository" is an electronic system to store, preserve and disseminate an institution's information assets to the institution and beyond. Examples of information assets include archives, institutional records and images, faculty publications, committee reports and records, curricular materials, theses and dissertations, data sets and files, multimedia, on-campus publications and student portfolios.
In a recent essay by Donald Morris, "A Revolution in Knowledge Sharing", Morris posits that "institutional repositories" capture the knowledge that lies within a particular community ... that crosses over many discipline-based communities of practice." It is an essential element of what Morris calls the ecology of "e-knowledge". Others have said that digital repositories are both a new way of organizing content, and a new way of connecting a community of learners with content. In addition, it presents opportunities for a community to begin to participate in a social movement to lesson the academic dependency on expensive proprietary ownership of journal-based content. In short, over time, institutional repositories could produce a revolution in the management of the scholarly information process itself.
Under the management and technical leadership of the library, Drake University has implemented this service, resource and learning tool. With a minimal investment, Drake has implemented this enterprise service to its entire community, and has proceeded to engage faculty, students, and alumni in the creation of content. We believe the approach that Drake has used is a model that is applicable to a wide range of institutions, public and private. The Drake process includes ten steps: 1) educate yourself with the concept of an institutional repository, 2) form an advisory committee, 3) investigate software options, 4) determine equipment/staffing needs, 5) identify and collect items for submission, 6) determine metadata standards, 7) self-deposit pilot projects, 8) register service with OAI-harvesters, 9) advocate, promote and market the service within your institution, and 10) provide training and support.
You do not need to be a research institution to build a repository. Virtually all learning communities can benefit from developing and implementing this service.
The development of the repository at Drake has been a multi-dimensional challenge, but it is already delivering significant benefits to core learning practices at Drake. It has become a major program vehicle for the establishment of new collaborations between the teaching and library faculty, for the introduction of new technologies, and for opening new funding sources.
Session Type: Lecture/Presentation
Contact information/affiliation:
Rod Henshaw
Dean, Cowles Library
Drake University
2507 University Ave.
Des Moines, IA. 50311
515-271-3993 FAX 515-271-3933
Email: rod.henshaw@drake.edu
Claudia Thornton Frazer
Resource Description and Materials
Management Librarian
Cowles Library - Drake University
2507 University Ave.
Des Moines, IA. 50311
515-271-3776 FAX 515-271-3933
Email: claudia Frazer: claudia.frazer@DRAKE.EDU
Equipment: Projector, screen, internet connection