Rethinking Institutional Repositories

Over the past two decades, institutional repositories (IRs) have become commonplace in academic libraries. Library workers have grown accustomed to making the case for why their institution needs an IR, but the more fundamental question of “how” remains: How should libraries use their IRs most effectively to benefit their institutions and communities? Rethinking Institutional Repositories: Innovations in Management, Collections, and Inclusion aims to expand on existing scholarship around establishing a repository and increasing faculty submissions by highlighting a variety of approaches to administering IRs, increasing the variety of content, and broadening participation. In three sections: IR Management IR Projects IR for All Chapters explore examples and plans for your IR including migration; engaging remotely; gray literature; student scholarship; partnering with university presses; creating sustainable historical community partnerships; conducting a baseline diversity, equity, and inclusion assessment; automated accessibility audits; captioning; and promoting non-traditional works. The ideas, scholarship, and examples in Rethinking Institutional Repositories can inspire and reinvigorate how you engage with the repositories at your institutions.