The rising cost of journals has contributed to a crisis in scholarly publishing. Unable to keep up with inflated prices, libraries are cutting their collections. Librarians, scientists and revolutionary publishers are developing a new model of scholarly publishing: open archives initiatives. Open archives are designed to provide free access to papers and other scientific information. Projects such as DSpace at MIT and the University of California’s eScholarship Repository are already underway.
In 2004, the Marine Biological Laboratory/Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (MBLWHOI) Library launched its own open archives project. Certain questions regarding the project have arisen:
1. Why is an open archives initiative appropriate for the MBLWHOI Library? 2. How was a platform/schema chosen? 3. What are some of the challenges facing the developers?
This poster session will reveal the results of a study undertaken to understand the implementation of an open archives project at the MBLWHOI Library. Using documentation, interviews and survey data, I will provide an in-depth look at the evolution of an open archives project.