How to Set Up an Institutional Repository in 5 Steps
This guide covers every step involved in building an institutional repository, from defining your content policies to what metrics you should track after setting up the repository.
If you ask around what's the easiest way to gather information these days, most people will suggest 'search online'. The rationale is simple — it is easy, reliable, and available at your fingertips. Due to its ever-growing popularity, you must ensure your institution's research output can be found online for relevant search queries. Not only does it boost traffic, but it will lead to more visibility and citations. But how do you make it happen? Building an institutional repository is a great starting point.
An institutional repository is an electronic archive to store and preserve the research or scholarly output of an institution. Over the years, as internet proliferation skyrocketed, institutional repositories have been forced to evolve beyond a simple archive. It should be the focal point for disseminating your research output online — that means meticulously organized, easily accessible to readers, and search engine friendly. Building a complex structure like that from scratch could feel daunting, but it doesn't have to be.
Follow this step-by-guide to set up an institutional repository and improve the visibility of your research output.
The steps involved in building an institutional repository
Whether you are new to institutional repositories or an experienced hand, this guide features plenty of valuable tips and insights. It covers every step involved in great detail, from defining your content policies to what metrics you should track after setting up the repository.
1. Craft an institutional repository policy
Well-defined policies go a long way in bringing clarity. It ensures that everyone is pulling in the same direction. Imagine setting up an IR without specifying the format in which content should be submitted or what happens when a faculty member leaves.
Avert the ensuing confusion by taking the time to lay down all the necessary rules and guidelines right from the get-go. Be sure to cover topics such as:
What type of content can be deposited?
The standard format for different types of content.
The formatting guidelines that ought to be followed by contributors.
What is the maximum storage space allocated to each contributor?
Who is eligible to deposit, and what can they deposit?
Who is responsible for copyright vetting?
What happens when a faculty member leaves?
How to handle grey literature and other unpublished materials?
How often should the content be refreshed?
What is the procedure for withdrawing/removing a paper from the repository?
The access levels — Who can read what? What can be repurposed?
What is the name of the repository?
The structure and hierarchy in which documents are stored and presented
What metadata should be submitted along with the resource?
The metadata convention that needs to be followed.
How to digitize documents that are only available in print?
This is not an exhaustive list, but it will help you get started. Break down the different aspects of an IR from content to the submission process and access privileges, and then specify rules and guidelines for each. Not only does it save time and effort and reduce confusion, but it will also help you choose the right IR software for your institution.
Before we move on, let’s take a look at Stanford University's Digital Repository. They have clearly outlined the repository's purpose and how different members of their community should use it.
To get your institutional repository up and running, you need a repository platform capable of hosting, managing, and showcasing your research output. There are different types of repository platforms out there — open-source platforms, proprietary platforms, and Electronic Theses and Dissertation (ETD) deposit systems.
Since each institution has its own unique needs, demands, and requirements, you must choose a platform that fits your institution’s context. But there are certain key features and considerations that you should look for when evaluating these platforms. Use the list below to select a platform that works best for you.
Hosting
Locally hosted platforms can give institutions direct operational control, but require staff to maintain the infrastructure, security and backups. Performance depends on deployment, not hosting model alone.
A managed hosting provider can handle some infrastructure and support tasks under a service agreement. Check data portability, backups, access controls and ongoing costs before choosing one.
Features
Assess search, metadata, persistent identifiers, permissions, deposit review, accessibility, preservation and interoperability against the collection you intend to host. Increased citations are not guaranteed by a platform.
Some repositories emphasize preservation, others add discovery and workflow features. Compare current products against your institution’s requirements rather than treating a whole category as outdated.
So, if you want your institutional repository to be advanced and comprehensive, you should look for a platform with advantages such as:
Seamless approval/rejection workflow
Ability to manage Open Access workflows effectively
Import or harvest metadata where sources and permissions allow it.
Create and manage researcher profiles and publications
Offers integrations and interoperability with your existing tools and software
Supports and effectively renders all the different types of assets (and content formats) — preprint journal articles, electronic theses and dissertations, podcasts, video presentations, etc.
Analytics and discoverability controls that fit institutional privacy policy.
Rights information and staff-supported checks of the version permitted for deposit; a software flag cannot itself establish permission.
The cost involved and resources available
Open-source software may have no licence fee, but hosting, configuration, upgrades, support and preservation still require a budget and staff.
On the other hand, most proprietary platforms are not free. However, they do come with dedicated customer support and tons of documentation. Your team will be able to get onboarded and commence work much faster.
So, before you make a decision, evaluate the budget and human resources that you have at your disposal.
3. Get supporting IT infrastructure and train relevant stakeholders
Once you’ve chosen the platform, the next step is to get all the additional software and hardware required to run the repository. That means you will need:
Computers that are capable of running the repository platform
Servers that can securely host and make the content accessible to readers within your institution and outside
Conversion or accessibility tools where the chosen content types require them; JATS XML is not a universal repository requirement.
SEO tools to monitor and analyze incoming organic traffic
Citation management solution to gather and organize citation database
Before you start crossing items off your to-buy list, you must evaluate if the platform, tools, or software aligns with your requirements or not. For instance, if you plan to allocate 10 GB of storage space to each researcher in your university, you need to make sure that you have enough space available in the first place.
Simultaneously, start training your librarians, IT technical associates, faculty, student liaisons, and other key stakeholders so that they know their roles and responsibilities clearly. Researchers must have a clear understanding of the submission process — where to submit, the type of content, stage of review, copyright regulations, expected format, approval cycle, among other things. On the other hand, an IT Technical Associate must be aware of what needs to be patched regularly, how often the data should be backed up, what to do in case there is unauthorized access, and more.
Training and maintenance can support adoption; measure actual use rather than assuming it will increase.
Start with eligible theses, dissertations and scholarly outputs that your policy prioritizes. Plan digitization and rights review for print material, and work with researchers on permitted versions of published work.
Before digitizing or providing open access to older work, check ownership, institutional agreements, publisher policies and applicable law. Author permission can be necessary but may not resolve every right.
Scan fragile items with appropriate equipment, create a searchable file where useful, and check image and OCR quality. Preserve a suitable master file when your policy requires it.
The self-archiving process starts with speaking to library liaisons. Collaborate with them to devise a plan to get faculty and students to deposit their existing work to the repository. However, this doesn’t always work because the author may not have the time to do it themselves.
A deposit-by-proxy service can help when authorized staff have confirmed the correct manuscript version, permissions, metadata and access setting. Record who authorized deposit.
Building a working repository is just the beginning. The moment you think of it as an if-you-build-it-they-will-come project, you are setting yourself up for failure. After the initial hype dies down, there will be a sharp decline in deposits or downloads. So, you must keep promoting the repository and reviewing key metrics regularly to see where you are at.
To promote usage of your institutional repository, you must:
Make the deposit process as seamless as possible.
Ensure the approval-rejection cycle is not too long.
Offer librarian-supported rights checks and clear guidance to help authors identify a permitted version.
Accept multiple forms of grey literature.
Help authors understand how to make their work Open Access.
Make descriptive records accessible to search engines where appropriate; indexing and rankings are not guaranteed.
Launch awards for most active contributors, most-read pieces, etc.
Encourage authors to share links to their repository content on social media and other online forums.
Promote the launch of the repository with press releases and special events.
Set up weekly email newsletters featuring repository content.
‘You can't manage what you can't measure’, this may be an age-old saying, but it is very much applicable to institutional repositories. Imagine reviewing the numbers and finding out that the downloads-to-views ratio of the Computer Science department is much higher than all the other departments, but new deposits are comparatively lower.
Track deposits, downloads, record completeness, access requests and referral traffic with tools allowed by institutional privacy policy. Interpret usage counts carefully; views, downloads and citations measure different things.
Number of downloads
Number of deposits
Number of publications indexed
Organic traffic
Social traffic
Search position changes
Backlinks
Citations
Conclusion
A repository can support access, preservation and reporting when its policies and service are maintained. Evaluate outcomes against your institution’s goals and funder requirements.
A managed service is one option for institutions that need repository hosting and support. Compare its current features and service terms with your policy, preservation and export requirements.
How to Set Up an Institutional Repository in 5 Steps
