Re: Why Cornell's Institutional Repository Is Near-Empty

[Phil Davis <pmd8@cornell.edu>]

Stevan Harnad wrote:

> The only thing Cornell needs to do if it wants its IR filled 
> with Cornell's own research output is to mandate it.
It sounds simple enough.  Make one's faculty do what they don't 
see as necessary themselves.  This can the solution to every 
institution's ills, as long as we have a Philosopher King running 
our universities, and a naive belief that the ignorant faculty 
masses can be ruled by a strong, wise, and benevolent leader.

The goal of our paper was not to demonstrate that IRs are a 
failure.  It was to find out why they are not serving the 
purpose(s) we intended them to serve.  This is why we focused on 
non-use, and why our subtitle reads: "Evaluating the Reasons for 
Non-use of Cornell University's Installation of DSpace."

If we are to work at an institution where our researchers have 
the freedom to chose how they disseminate and archive their work, 
then it is important to understand the beliefs and motivations 
behind their behaviors.  These results may lead to building 
better services around repositories, actively harvesting 
documents on personal and laboratory websites rather than waiting 
passively for individuals to deposit them, educating faculty on 
copyright law, repurposing library staff to deposit the work of 
faculty, and even enlisting publishers to become part of the 
repository chain.

These solutions are much more difficult than a simple mandate, 
yet ultimately, their effects may be more lasting. --Phil Davis

--------------------------------
Institutional Repositories: Evaluating the Reasons for Non-use of Cornell
University's Installation of DSpace
D-Lib Magazine
March/April 2007
Volume 13 Number 3/4
http://www.dlib.org/dlib/march07/davis/03davis.html