Best practices and policies in institutional repositories development: The Ktisis case

Abstract

Libraries worldwide have realized the importance of institutional repositories in the intellectual life and output of an institution. Institutional repositories are now clearly recognized as essential infrastructure in the digital world. An institutional repository is a means for the institutions to manage the product of their academic research and to increase accessibility to that product. Generally, institutional repository development is still in the process of establishing guiding principles and best practices, through established cases which can be used to learn development options and risks. This paper begins with a brief description of the implementation process of Ktisis, the open access institutional repository of the Cyprus University of Technology, and continues to describe the set of activities used in the strategic plan of Ktisis. Among those activities was the definition of the promotional plan, the engagement in the international community and the definition of the Ktisis policy of use.