A-LIEP: DSpace and EPrints

In "Innovative Information Services in Academic Environments," Michael Leach discussed quite a few things, but I'll just focus here on DSpace and EPrints, which are software commonly used to build institutional repositories, but may also be used for records management and even archiving of personal documents.

The best way to explain what an institutional repository is would be to cite an example. And since there is only one Filipino institution utilizing DSpace at this time, check out Saint Louis University's Digital Research Repository, where users can view the abstracts of graduate and undergraduate theses as pdf files.

For a better understanding of what DSpace is capable of, check out the Cornell University Library's Open Access Repository, which has the full metadata record of a dissertation that cites the Filipino jeep. It looks like those who have the proper password can actually download, or at least access, the entire dissertation.

There does not seem to be any Filipino institution utilizing EPrints at this time, but E-prints for Library and Information Science (E-LIS) is a very good example. I have actually deposited the paper I presented at A-LIEP and, assuming it is accepted, it looks like it will be the first paper submitted by a Filipino author. A full-text search for "Philippines" yields 17 documents, none of which are really about the Philippines.

Filipino librarians can definitely take advantage of DSpace and EPrints, but it will take a bit more technical know-how than a blog requires because the necessary software must first be downloaded, configured and installed. This should not be difficult, however, because quite a few institutions are already digitizing their theses collections.

For more examples of institutional repositories, see the Live DSpace Sites and the known archives running EPrints.


Category: A-LIEP