Disciplinary repositories in the social sciences

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to review the development of disciplinary repositories in the social sciences.

Design/methodology/approach

The concentration of this article is on a discussion of the operational styles of existing repositories.

Findings

The paper argues that appropriate operational styles of digital repositories will change the culture of information exchange in the social science disciplines. It finds that many successful repositories have employed the strategy of decentralization in their operations. This model can efficiently and effectively reach individual scholars in broad areas.

Originality/value

Most existing repositories in the social sciences have not gained ground in attracting scholars. They could learn from successful repositories to improve their own operational plans.

Citation

Xia, J. (2007), "Disciplinary repositories in the social sciences", Aslib Proceedings, Vol. 59 No. 6, pp. 528-538. https://doi.org/10.1108/00012530710839605