Current Trends in Institutional Repositories for Institutions Offering Master's and Baccalaureate Degrees

Abstract

This article describes the current practices of institutional repositories at master's and baccalaureate institutions (M&BIs) in the United States. The focus includes repository content composition, operational style, development history, and accessibility. The research studies a group of institutional repositories through the analysis of their content elements. The article also discusses important management issues and identifies challenges. This research can provide a valuable resource to other libraries of similar type and size for the planning and implementation of new repositories, as well as assess the current environment of institutional repositories. Serials Review 2010; 36:10-18.

The Future of Institutional Repositories at Small Academic Institutions: Analysis and Insights

“…This author believes that in addition to challenges faced by all repositories discussed above, repositories at smaller institutions face further difficulties unique to an academic environment that emphasizes teaching, a focus that has not been well embraced by IR system design and service promotion. This observation is supported by a focused study on current practices of IRs at master's and baccalaureate institutions (Xia & Opperman, 2010). The study affirmed that teaching takes precedence for most faculty members at these institutions as the central function of these institutions is to promote the academic success of undergraduates.…”

“…Although IRs have become a more integrated library service at large academic institutions, repository managers have not been able to secure full faculty cooperation in content acquisition at small academic institutions where teaching is the main focus (Xia & Opperman, 2010). This is mainly due to the fact that although system design and service promotion have primarily focused on research needs, not enough attention has been given to faculty needs in teaching.…”

Assessing Research Data Deposits and Usage Statistics within IDEALS

“…Although IRs have become a more integrated library service at large academic institutions, the literature indicates repository managers experience issues obtaining faculty cooperation in content acquisition (Xia & Opperman 2010). An initial investigation conducted on repository users and repositories in New Zealand found users were more interested in externally developed, discipline-specific repositories than in repositories housed at their own institutions (Cullen & Chawner 2010).…”

“…Large-sized academic libraries were the early adopters of Institutional Repositories (IRs), and early development of IRs focused on the accumulation, preservation and dissemination of faculty research output in an openly accessible way (Xia & Opperman 2010). Research suggests that only between 15% and 30% of eligible scholars and researchers deposit their work in institutional repositories (Cullen & Chawner 2011).…”

Student Scholarship in Institutional Repositories

“…Most examine what types of institutions post student scholarship and the impact that the size of institution has on the inclusion of this material (Markey et al, 2008;Xia & Opperman, 2009). Institutions are usually described by the highest level of degree conferred, beginning with baccalaureate (undergraduate) degree-granting institutions, followed by those granting master's degrees, and finally institutions conferring doctoral degrees and involved in post-doctoral education.…”