Institutional repository: A 21st century tool for scholarly communication

Abstract

Knowledge generated through research in universities and other research institutions is only significant when it is shared, disseminated, easily findable, andaccessible to a wider audience for the benefit of the academic populace. Scholarly publications such as journals and conference proceedings, dissertations, andtheses are pivotal channels of sharing such knowledge; however, the costs of these have been progressively increasing, making it ever more unbearable for many institutions to provide access to most or even all of them. This gave rise tothe institutional repository. An institutional repository (IR) is a digital archive of the intellectual products created by the faculty, research staf , and students of an institution and accessible to end users both within and outside the institution with few if any barriers to access. This paper, therefore, examines historical overview of scholarly communication, 21st-century scholarly communication, the concept of IR, IR characteristics, IR policy, benefits to various stakeholders, and its implications for scholarly communication.