Institutions, Their Repositories and the Web

It will soon be rare for research-based institutions not to have a digital repository. The main reason for a repository is to maximize the visibility of the institution's research outputs (provide Open Access), yet few contain a representative proportion of the research produced by their institutions. Repositories form one part of the institution's Web platform. An explicit, mandatory policy on the use of the repository for collecting outputs is needed in every institution so that the full research record is collected. Once full, a repository is a tool that enables senior management in research institutions to collate and assess research, to market their institution, to facilitate new forms of scholarship, and to enable the tools that will produce new knowledge.