Institutional Repositories Supporting Cyberscholarship: Building Content

Abstract

Recent reports point to an increased focus on evolving forms of research and scholarship, known as "cyberscholarship". Building content in institutional repositories is integral to supporting the future of scholarly communications and thereby supporting cyberscholarship. However the literature consistently points to the basic failure to date to embed the institutional repository in the intellectual life of the scholar / researcher. The author examines several initiatives in Australia designed to address some of the well documented obstacles to engagement. This paper concludes that one of the keys to changing the current culture lies in changing the mind set -- not by concentrating solely on the advantages of open access but rather by proactively facilitating the process for participation and then demonstrating the resultant benefit(s).