The institutional repository at the University of Nebraska‐Lincoln: Its first year of operations

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide a short history of the first year of operation of an institutional repository (IR) at a midwestern state university. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is anecdotal, reviewing aims, rationales, and strategies, and offering advice and some counter‐intuitive lessons.

Findings

The paper finds that voluntary self‐archiving by faculty or campus publishers is exceptional or rare, but there are other ways of populating an IR with valuable content. IR's should seek original material, including new dissertations, as well as previously published articles. IR's should offer a variety of services to make faculty participation as effortless as possible. IR's can increase usage by efforts directed at publicizing their resources and offerings.

Research limitations/implications

The paper concerns one institution, but the challenges faced are common to all new university institutional repositories.

Originality/value

This paper is a useful source of information for those considering, planning, or operating an institutional repository.

Citation

Royster, P. (2007), "The institutional repository at the University of Nebraska‐Lincoln: Its first year of operations", OCLC Systems & Services: International digital library perspectives, Vol. 23 No. 2, pp. 183-189. https://doi.org/10.1108/10650750710748487