14 · Survey Results: Executive Summary
Most repositories did not have a sense of audience
size. Only four repositories were able to identify au-
dience size, based on the size of the disciplinary re-
search community, industry market, or government
stakeholders. For InterNano, specifically, the range
of audience types and sectors presented a barrier to
gauging the size of the audience accurately. These
responses indicate a need to develop a tool to gauge
audience size for assessment purposes.
There are several reported preparatory activities
performed prior to launching a disciplinary reposi-
tory. The most common activity is the formation of an
advisory board. Researching repository features, re-
pository software, and the disciplinary environment,
and creating a strategic plan for the repository are also
common activities that inform repository develop-
ment. HABRI Central solicited market and sustain-
ability plans from consultants and literature reviews.
Less common development activities are those that di-
rectly or indirectly solicit stakeholder feedback, such
as workshops or charrettes, focus groups, or user or
author surveys. Expense, time, and specialized skills
required to successfully undertake these information-
gathering and planning activities are considerations
for disciplinary repository managers.
Features and Content
When asked about the software platform that the re-
positories are built upon, more than half of the re-
spondents report using the United Kingdom-based
EPrints3 software. DSpace4 is used by AgEcon Search
and Dryad HubZero5 is used by HABRI Central cus-
tom software platforms have been implemented by
PubMed Central and tDAR. Dryad also incorporates
custom software with their DSpace installation.
Apart from the research content that is provided
by these repositories, respondents were asked about
the other tools and resources that they offer to provide
disciplinary context and develop community. Social
networking and sharing tools are the most common,
with reported ties to Twitter, Facebook, email dis-
cussion lists, RSS feeds, blogs, and LinkedIn. More
labor-intensive electronic newsletters and calendars
are also provided. InterNano provides a directory,
original content, and a disciplinary technical process
database to its users HABRI Central offers simulation
tools and statistical packages, as well as a discussion
forum. PubMed Central is unique in that it is inte-
grated with an established suite of bibliographic and
database tools provided by the National Center for
Biotechnology Information.6
All of the repositories promote use to their com-
munities, mostly through conference presentations,
email announcements, and newsletters. None of the
repositories have a “build it and they will come”
model, they instead use active marketing practices
and make arrangements with organizations to build
their collections. Repositories perform a number of
content recruitment methods, and all of the reposito-
ries reported formal arrangements with publishers,
professional organizations, research centers, or fund-
ing bodies to recruit content. Most of the repositories
have a policy that anyone can create an account and
submit materials, and a practice that the repository
staff create content. Nearly all respondents reported
that repository staff monitor submissions to ensure
they are within a repository’s scope.
When asked if the recent government mandates
have impacted their repository’s collection develop-
ment, most respondents did not perceive a change,
but others were positive or aware of the impact of
government mandates. For example, PubMed Central
responded that a “Congressional mandate requires
NIH funded manuscripts to be deposited, which has
enriched the PubMed Central database and increased
its usage,” and tDAR responded, “In both positive and
negative ways recent government actions, including
mandates, have affected tDAR’s content development.
On the negative side, the budget cuts required by fed-
eral government sequestration have slowed the rate
at which federal agency offices have decided to use
tDAR to manage the archaeological information for
which they are responsible. On the positive side, the
Administration’s developing policy of “Open Gov”
and improving access to federal scientific data, in-
cluding archaeological data, has created an interest in
considering by federal agency offices in using tDAR
to provide for this required access.”
Respondents reported a wide range of accepted
content types. The most commonly accepted con-
tent is working papers, and about half of the respon-
dents accept pre-prints, post-prints, book chapters,
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