Abstract
PurposeThe purpose of this research is to investigate the link between copyright and
some Institutional Repositories’ Key Performance Indicators, full text and
participation rates, in order to make recommendations to library professionals
involved with Institutional Repositories at an operational or strategic level.
Aims and objectives
This study aims to identify current practices in copyright management of
deposited material and the provision of copyright information and support
activities related to self-archiving in North American and European Institutional
Repositories, also with a view to define copyright approaches adopted by libraries in relation to these activities. Providing both copyright management and
education activities puts a strain on the already stretched resources of many
libraries, therefore this study attempts to evaluate the impact of these activities.
Methods
A cross sectional design combining both qualitative and quantitative methods
was used. An invitation to complete a web-based self-completion questionnaire
was sent to North American and European Institutional Repositories managers.
This was followed by a content analysis of copyright web pages.
Results
The literature identified lack of copyright awareness as a factor for non-participation and low self-archiving behaviour. Institutional repositories in North America and Europe are managing the copyright of deposited material, and manage the related risk to some extent. They are providing copyright training and support activities using mainly individual assistance, one to one conversations and presentations as communication methods. The study could not establish any causal relationship between these activities and full text and participation rates due to gaps and inconsistencies in the measurement of these variables. However, other variables were identified as having an impact on these Key Performance Indicators, such as Open Access mandates, use of author addenda and licences, education about author rights, and a rights retention advocacy copyright approach.
Conclusions
Tackling the issue of copyright literacy related to self-archiving amongst scholars is critical for libraries to ensure long term access to published research produced ii at their institution in order to guarantee the visibility of this research. It requires a blended approach, modelled on Australia, where the implementation of Open Access mandates by institutions and funders, combined with copyright management, support and education strategies, led to higher deposit rates. Embedding copyright education in other training and involving all library staff would also reduce the burden of copyright management on repository staff in the long term. The survey responses suggested that evidence-based evaluation of Institutional Repositories' success is poorly developed, therefore improving Key Performance Indicators measurement such as full text and participation rates is needed in order to assess the impact of copyright activities
| Date of Award | 2012 |
|---|---|
| Original language | English |
| Awarding Institution |
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| Supervisor | Lucy Tedd (Supervisor) |