Iowa State University Digital Repository Reaches Milestones

"The Digital Repository @ Iowa State University reached two important milestones recently. Over 21,000 objects have been deposited and downloaded well over 2,000,000 times. As the name implies, DR@ISU offers a digital format where the scholarship and research of faculty, students and staff can be deposited and housed permanently. It provides an open access channel to that research free of charge. Types of materials included are papers, presentations, art, book chapters, conference proceedings, extension research, and audio recordings, among others. Users from around the world have access, which translates to widespread reach and unlimited potential. Iowa State University launched DR@ISU in April of 2012, thanks to a partnership with the University Library and the Office of the Vice President for Research. The DR Coordinator, Harrison Inefuku, and his staff are experts in locating and depositing the scholarship currently held. They provide varied services including copyright clearance and permissions checking, the creation of author profiles and portfolios, the assignment of permanent URLs for all materials in the repository and provide researchers with comprehensive reports of usage and downloads. The DR holdings didn’t happen by accident. When Inefuku arrived at Iowa State in 2012, he immediately began outreach presentations campus-wide, and the results have been immense. Faculty from all seven colleges contribute research to the repository, and particularly those from Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, Chemical and Biological Engineering and Entomology where a fervent effort is underway to have everyone contribute research. DR@ISU employs automated processes for article submission, peer review and publication, which are built in to the system. The first journal to utilize these features is Journal of Critical Thought and Praxis, which is peer-reviewed and published by graduate students in the School of Education. Research located in the Digital Repository is at increased chance for discovery and enhanced visibility. When an item is sought from the DR, the visitor expects quick access and answers to questions, and usually the desired response time is split second. The DR is set up so that items are accessible in real time ..."