OCLC Systems & Services

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to highlight the role of science repositories in the development of e-science. It aims to provide an overview of the open access collections currently operating in Spain.

Design/methodology/approach – This paper is an examination of the tools, type of contents, coverage and aims of the digital research collections generated by Spanish academic bodies.

Findings – There is only a limited development of institutional repositories, although it is possible to detect a growing tendency to create them. At the present moment, these digital collections seem principally to be seeking visibility for scientific output such as theses, journals, work in progress, preliminary results and other fringe or unconventional literature, without currently making use of academic teaching and learning materials or corpora relating to the cultural heritage.

Practical implications – It would be desirable for government to become involved in encouraging open access within a new model for academic communication. It would appear crucial for the repositories aimed at spreading knowledge of scientific research to set in place mechanisms for rigorous peer assessment, so as to ensure the quality of the scholarly work deposited.

Originality/value – This paper considers the role of science repositories in the development of e-Science. The availability of resources for e-science, the need to support the compilation of repositories of information in electronic format and the access to digitized content is a matter of maximum priority for any national science policy. Designing a new model for academic communication requires collaboration from the authorities, from universities, from librarians and also support from researchers themselves.