Creating an institutional repository

The challenge for any insitutional repository initiative lies in trying to serve the needs of a variety of stakeholders.

To do this successfully, we suggest you:

• identify the different groups in your organis a tion interested in the insitutional repository
• understand stakeholder motivations and needs
• find out what stakeholders would like to be included in the repository including content and format
• manage expectations of all involved in setting up an insitutional repository including your own
• promote benefits of insitutional repository to the contributor, for example, greater visibility and impact of citation factors for published research, time saved
• develop a business plan with a broad mission statement

See also NHS health care libraries supporting research.

Raise the visibility of your institutional repository by:

• establishing its brand identity
• ensuring that each item uploaded into your insitutional repository bears the organisational logo or the adoption of a house style for the layout and typography
• utilising targetted communications rather than generic emails
• promoting and running workshops
• using social media
• describing benefits
• providing staff support

Salford Research and Development Department have created a quick guide to those using X to promote their research.

To be successful there should be a clear continuing advocacy campaign.

You should be clear about the benefits of depositing material in the insitutional repository, how people can contribute, and make the process of depositing papers simple and compatible with existing practices if possible.

If promotion and advocacy of the insitutional repository is not done successfully, the lack of knowledge about the insitutional repository can become a considerable barrier to ensuring the insitutional repository continues to be populated.

Find funding for initial costs and on-going costs which includes software, licenses and staff. You need to fully understand the costs involved when you choose the system especially if it is coming out of the library budget.

It is important that you select the right software so it is technically easy to use.

Repository software solutions should not be stand-alone systems and can work effectively with other systems in the information architecture of an organisation. You should investigate other systems in your organisation to see if a repository can be linked and doesn’t duplicate a system which already exists.

Content management systems, library management systems, portals or collaborative working environments can all be used to create an insitutional repository.

A single piece of software may not accomplish all you need it to, and a comprehensive assessment of the system's functionality and an analysis of existing systems should be undertaken.

Whichever software you use, you must name the repository something meaningful and appropriate so users know what it is.

Plan for the short, medium, and long term lifespan of your repository.

Costs

You will need to consider some of the costs associated with the repository, including:

• purchase and installation of the software
• maintenance costs
• staffing costs

What to include

As institutional repositories capture, share, utilise and enable access to the knowledge output of the NHS organisation served, a wide range of material can be included. Not all material needs to be full-text, although clearly it is beneficial if full-text can be provided where possible.

Respositories don't need to be just research. Some examples of the type of material included in an insitutional repository are:

• articles about the organisation
• book chapters
• conference presentations
• dissertations and theses
• innovations
• internal bulletins
• joint strategic needs assessment data
• lessons learnt reports
• organisational strategies and reports
• patient case histories and stories
• patient leaflets
• policies and guidelines
• posters
• presentations
• research papers commissioned and published
• research studies where staff participate but are not
• included as authors in published research
• service/departmental guidelines
• staff publications in professional newsletters as well in
• journals
• video/YouTube clips

You should work in collaboration with key stakeholders to help decide on what content should be added and how. Content could be added by all users, KLS staff, or a mix. Content can alo be harvested from existing sources.

Design and content

Before setting up an insitutional repository, be clear about its design and content. Cate Newell of Exeter health library, part of the Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Trust, has created the following checklist of considerations.

• Data collection.
• Bulk upload.
• Structure.
• Your organisational authors.
• Submission process.
• Researcher profile pages.
• Subject headings.
• Publicity.
• Whether you should include the full text.
• Publication type.
• Honorary contracts.

Metadata can be collected at various stages during the ingest of an item into the insitutional repository.

In the context of an institutional repository, metadata is needed to facilitate discovery of your content. Resource discovery of content is enabled through assigning relevant criteria to content items.

The uses of metadata are varied, and can:

• helps users identify resources
• bring similar resources together
• distinguish dissimilar resources
• give location information
• be essential to facilitate harvesting of insitutional repository content by external systems
• help organise insitutional repository content and supports archiving and preservation

Having policies and guidelines that indicate how you are going to protect and maintain the quality of the information held is essential, and should:

• ensure the system used for the insitutional repository is fit for the needs of your users
• clarify who is going to upload the content and in what format
• offer clear signposting to intellectual property rights, copyright, and any publisher restrictions of open access material
• avoid multiple versions of a document
• provide content packaging guidelines and templates
• ensure back up files are kept
• have a withdrawal policy

As part of this process, you should consider the following questions as well, and understand the functionality you require.

• What metadata must be collected?
• Is self-archiving required? Ensure there is a clear understanding of the required time, effort and skillset to maintain these archives.
• How long will the repository retain items?
• How will documents be updated when content becomes obsolete?
• How will documents be removed when incorrect?

There are risks associated with repositories, and below you will find a handful of examples you may face.

• Content must be copyright cleared.
• A ‘take-down’ policy with a defined process should be adopted when any content is questioned and promptly removed from public view before it is re- submitted, if needed after consideration.
• Ownership needs to be clear with responsibilities and terms of reference defined.
• Consider establishing a repository steering group, who can promote standardisation, consistency, make strategic decisions and resolve any issues which need addressing.
• A group of subject matter experts can help with the moderation of deposits made. They can respond to any questions, and be involved in the coaching and mentoring of learners and contributors.
• Have a withdrawal policy that defines if items are deleted altogether or just hidden from public view.
• Avoid multiple versions of a document.

NHS England staff must adhere to various copyright policies. Find out more about copyright policies at NHS England.

If you require further assistance, please contact the copyright first responders team via email [email protected].

You should establish a measurement plan to monitor and produce statistical reports on the use and impact of the institutional repository.