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E-LIS established in 2003 is an international open access archive on librarianship, information science and technology, and related disciplines. It uses the Open Archives Initiative (OAI) protocol and tools to facilitate interoperability between repository servers. E-LIS is the first e-server and largest repository in Library and Information Science (LIS) and is managed and maintained by an international team of experts working on a voluntary basis. The purpose of this paper is to describe the main characteristics (technical and organizational) of the archive and its configuration and customisation, and discuss its policies, aims and mission. Its main focus, however, is on the E-LIS organizational model and on the strategic issues correlated to Open Access (OA). The challenges and opportunities of E-LIS consequent to a global vision for the LIS are also discussed. It explains how E-LIS stimulates participation from all over the world, which helps research activities on the subject worldwide. The paper emphasises that E-LIS can promote OA movement in general, and so it can help in disseminating the OA philosophy serving as a model to reveal the benefits of international subject specific open access repositories.

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