What can the Institutional Repository hold?
The repository is based on the Fedora repository software. This software has been designed to be very flexible in what kinds of material it can hold. Essentially if the object can be held in a digital file then it can be stored.
The repository is not just about storage however. Finding and exposing objects/research outputs is another prime objective and this is primarily managed by attaching various forms of metadata to the object.
The objects thus found then need to be distributed and here the repository is constrained by what browsers and the net can handle. There is the capacity to attach disseminators to objects which would enable specific solutions for distribution of unusual file types but at the moment we are restricting ourselves to those forms of object which can be read by browsers. We would be glad to talk to anyone with unusual file types to explore the more advanced capacity of the repository.
The following types of document can be readily accepted subject to checking copyright and licence agreements:
- Journal articles
- Conference Papers
- Book chapters
- Books
- Research papers/reports
- Discussion papers
- Working papers
- Technical reports
Theses
Theses are a special case in which the Library has a specific program to encourage the deposit of digital versions of research theses (PhD and Masters by research). Theses deposited with the Library will be added to the national Australian Digital Thesis database as well as being exposed in all the other ways that repository objects can be promoted around the world.
Images
The repository can hold and disseminate images. The Library has additional image software which can also greatly aid the use of images in teaching.
Audio and video
The repository can hold audio and video files. At the moment there are alternative, specialised services available within the university which would be a better solution in many cases to the storage of such material. However where audio or video files are the product of research and the prime concern is the capture and security of research outputs we would be glad to talk to researchers about helping store and organise this material.
Datasets
The repository movement nationally and internationally is working on the question of the storage, organisation and dissemination of datasets associated with research projects. Increasingly publishers or funding bodies are requiring the open accessibility the data that supports a publication. There are special problems with data, especially where the volume is large, but we would be glad to talk to researchers who might need a solution to this problem.