An open repository or open-access repository is a digital platform that holds research output and provides free, immediate and permanent access to research results for anyone to use, download and distribute. To facilitate
open access
Open access (OA) is a set of principles and a range of practices through which nominally copyrightable publications are delivered to readers free of access charges or other barriers. With open access strictly defined (according to the 2001 de ...
such repositories must be
interoperable according to the
Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting (OAI-PMH).
Search engines harvest the content of open access repositories, constructing a database of worldwide, free of charge available research. Data repositories are the cornerstone for FAIR (findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable) data practices and are used expeditiously within the scientific community.
Open-access repositories, such as an
institutional repository or
disciplinary repository
A disciplinary repository (or subject repository) is an online archive, often an open-access repository, containing works or data associated with these works of scholars in a particular subject area. Disciplinary repositories can accept work f ...
, provide free access to research for users outside the institutional community and are one of the recommended ways to achieve the
open access
Open access (OA) is a set of principles and a range of practices through which nominally copyrightable publications are delivered to readers free of access charges or other barriers. With open access strictly defined (according to the 2001 de ...
vision described in the
Budapest Open Access Initiative definition of open access. This is sometimes referred to as the
self-archiving or "green" route to open access.
Benefits
The benefits of open-access repositories are:
* Opening up outputs of the institution to a worldwide audience;
* Maximizing the visibility and impact of these outputs as a result;
* Showcasing the institution to interested constituencies – prospective staff, prospective students and other stakeholders;
* Collecting and curating digital output;
* Managing and measuring research and teaching activities;
* Providing a workspace for work-in-progress, and for collaborative or large-scale projects;
* Enabling and encouraging interdisciplinary approaches to research;
* Facilitating the development and sharing of digital teaching materials and aids, and
* Supporting student endeavours, providing access to theses and dissertations and a location for the development of e-portfolios.
Software
The most frequently used repository software for open repositories according to
OpenDOAR are
Digital Commons,
DSpace and
EPrints.
Other examples are
arXiv
arXiv (pronounced as "archive"—the X represents the Chi (letter), Greek letter chi ⟨χ⟩) is an open-access repository of electronic preprints and postprints (known as e-prints) approved for posting after moderation, but not Scholarly pee ...
,
bioRxiv,
Dryad,
Figshare,
Open Science Framework
The Center for Open Science is a non-profit technology organization based in Charlottesville, Virginia with a mission to "increase the openness, integrity, and reproducibility of scientific research." Brian Nosek and Jeffrey Spies founded the or ...
,
Samvera,
Ubiquity Repositories and
invenio
Invenio is a software framework for large-scale digital repositories that provides the tools for managing digital assets in an institutional repository and research data management systems. The software is typically used for open access reposi ...
(solution used by
Zenodo
Zenodo is a general-purpose open repository developed under the European OpenAIRE program and operated by CERN. It allows researchers to deposit research papers, data sets, research software, reports, and any other research related digital art ...
).
See also
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Current research information system
*
Digital library
A digital library (also called an online library, an internet library, a digital repository, a library without walls, or a digital collection) is an online database of digital resources that can include text, still images, audio, video, digital ...
*
Digital asset management
*
Library publishing
*
Open-access archives
*
Open access around the world
*
List of academic databases and search engines
This page contains a representative list of major databases and search engines useful in an academic setting for finding and accessing articles in academic journals, institutional repository, institutional repositories, archives, or other collecti ...
*
ROARMAP
References
External links
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Open repositories
{{DEFAULTSORT:Open Archive
Online archives
Open access (publishing)
Communication
Academic publishing
Research