Digital repositories Archived
Digital repositories have great potential for value added services and offer a range of benefits to researchers, teaching academics, learners, institutions, the global research community and the wider world. Some of these benefits will have been key drivers for the development of a repository whilst others may be unanticipated. Different repository models (research only repository, learning and teaching materials repository, mixed content repository, open repository) will have different benefits for each stakeholder group.
This infoKit highlights these benefits by type of repository. For example:
Research outputs repository
- Assists research collaboration through facilitating free exchange of scholarly information
- Aids in the public understanding of research endeavours and activities
- Helps researchers manage and store digital content connected with their research, including the underlying research data?Helps researchers manage any requirements of funding bodies for publications to be made available in a repository
Learning and Teaching materials repository
- Supports re-use and re-purposing which is especially beneficial with complex learning resources. There are cost efficiencies to be gained together with a decrease in duplication of effort.
- This can encourage improvement in teaching practice and offer a one-stop access point for staff, whilst encouraging multidisciplinary collaboration and sharing.
A section of the infoKit covers A Management Framework that consists of a range of topics to guide a repository manager through the initial planning process for establishing an institutional repository. These include the planning approach, making a business case, identifying key stakeholders, the costs and benefits of a repository, risk management, strategic planning and a selection of practical planning tools covering repository staffing and training.