Repository thrills and spills

Much can be learned from looking back and reflecting on events in the repository arena over the past few years. Repository systems, institutional managers, repository managers, advisory organisations and repository users have all come a long way in this short time. Looking back acts as a way of grounding prior activity in the present context. It can also provide invaluable insights into where repositories are headed. The activity of deliberating on past events may be of value to a range of individuals engaged in repository activities. This might include funding bodies, professional organisations, publishers, institutions with an existing repository; or those in the process of considering the deployment of one, repository managers, repository project workers, and repository contributors and content consumers. Some possible areas for consideration are technical and non-technical factors that encompass the whole range of the repository spectrum, from development through deployment, to advocacy and use. This article introduces this reflective process from the perspective of a repository project funded under the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) Digital Repositories Programme (JISC DRP) over the period 2005-2007. The Rights and Rewards Project's focus for the last two years has primarily been directed towards repositories with teaching and learning content. Although we consider repositories from the perspective of our local focus, i.e. an Institutional Repository, we also address issues from a wider sphere of influence. It is also worth bearing in mind that in the development of a repository of teaching resources we have benefited from prior studies by those setting up and maintaining research repositories. This invaluable background information has been extended to encompass a teaching perspective by the research undertaken by this and other projects. We present a brief background to repositories, and suggest some areas where shifts in perceptions may be occurring. This overview covers current context, the marketplace for repositories, actors and their roles, managing expectations, and service requirements. We also offer a light-hearted metaphorical view of the Rights and Rewards Project's "repository adventure". Areas for additional research activity are also discussed.