The Institutional Repository

Citation

Ferguson, S. (2008), "The Institutional Repository", Library Review, Vol. 57 No. 7, pp. 550-551. https://doi.org/10.1108/00242530810894077

Institutional repositories (IRs) represent one of the fastest growing manifestations of the digital library and it is not surprising to find Chandos publishing a book on the subject. There is a significant amount written on the topic, such as the SPARC Institutional Repository Checklist and Resource Guide (published online 2002) and the Journal of Institutional Repository Research (also an e‐resource), and one must question the decision to publish using the print book form, which tends to have a relatively long development time and to date quickly.

The justification for the book is that it is based on the authors’ experience at University of Edinburgh and will ensure that others are well equipped to develop IRs. It covers IRs in the context of digital library development, establishment of IRs, technologies and technicalities, workflow and administration, advocacy and intellectual property. It also includes a case study of the Edinburgh Research Archive, appendices that provide detail of six open source platforms, a glossary and a bibliography. Curiously for a book that takes digital libraries as its starting point, there is no discussion of those few packages available from library vendors capable of handling IRs – perhaps they were unavailable when the book was written.

The book is a good source for those unfamiliar with the technicalities of IR development, with considerable detail in both the text itself and in the 12‐page glossary, although the text stops short of providing detailed help in the development of technical requirements – the focus, rather, is guiding readers in the development of a set of functional requirements. Having done so, the authors turn to workflow and administration, which, although related, would benefit from separate treatment. While there is sound advice in the section on workflow, it remains relatively abstract, relying too heavily on workflow diagrams and failing to engage in a detailed discussion of who does what – should depositors (typically university academics), for instance, be entering metadata or should it be cataloguers or both? In this case a degree of abstraction may stem from structural issues, such as the fact that “stakeholders” are not discussed until chapter 6 (in the context of IP). Evaluation is another area that could be further developed – evaluation in this book applies mainly to specifics such as software comparisons and not to IR projects.

While some sections cry out for greater detail, the issue of advocacy is given a whole chapter, which seems excessive given the relative brevity of the text. One wonders too why advocacy is not dealt with until chapter 5. It is not until page 133, for instance, that the authors announce that the “next step” is to seek the support of senior management. Surely this is a first step, especially when such projects require considerable financial outlay. Small wonder the authors refer to the imposte on the library budget (p. 31) and somewhat petulantly to laggard academics “unwilling to change their working practices to fit with our [librarians’] ideals” (p. 118). Are these really issues? The authors discuss “change agents” but there appears to be no mention of external drivers such as the national research assessment exercises in the British university sector and elsewhere, which surely make IRs a high priority and not an ideal dreamt up by digital librarians and awaiting the persuasion of senior management and academic staff.

The fact that the authors have based the book on their experience in Edinburgh is both a strength and a weakness. There is a wealth of detail for those without the technical background who are embarking on an IR project (assuming anyone in the English‐speaking world is still at the embarkation stage) but it is clear that the authors’ vision is also bounded by their particular journey. Generalizing from case studies is always problematic and in this instance the reader is recommended to refer to other literature, not least to a basic text on project management.