Institutional Repositories:
Is There Anything Left to Say?

Paul Conway, Ph.D.

Director, Information Technology Services
Duke University Libraries

7 October 2004

9:00-9:30 am
Coffee and Pastries

9:30-11:00 am
Presentation and Q&A

OCLC Online Computer Library Center, Inc.
Kilgour Auditorium
6565 Frantz Road
Dublin, OH 43017-3395

According to Gartner Research, the concept of the Institutional Repository (IR) in higher education has just traversed the "peak of inflated expectations" and is headed toward the "trough of disillusionment." As the hype cycle continues, so too does the outpouring of published literature on why an IR is such a good thing and what it takes to make it work.

In some ways it seems that the promise of a vital service to scholarship has turned into a giant public relations headache.

Paul Conway's presentation will review the hype and the substance of institutional repositories and focus on three critical needs that have received relatively short shrift on the road to viable repository services: defining and dividing the content pie, adding a generous dollop of archival theory, and creating a rich incentive environment at the local level. Against this background of needs, Dr. Conway will conclude with commentary on the irony that only new collaborative models may be able to save a repository built under the umbrella of a single institution.

Dr. Paul Conway is Director, Information Technology Services for the Duke University Libraries, a position he has held since August 2001. Dr. Conway's particular focus is the development of the Digital Library @ Duke as a comprehensive program of services and tools for the provision and preservation of digital resources for the Duke University community. Prior to coming to Duke, Paul headed the Preservation Department at Yale University Library for nine years. He is a Fellow of the Society of American Archivists and has taught and written extensively on the use of archives, preservation administration, and digital preservation. He holds a doctorate in Information and Library Studies from the University of Michigan.

Background information

Presentation resources

PDF version of the original announcement