Nearly 80% of ARL Libraries either have or are planning IRs!

According to the latest SPEC kit, Institutional Repositories, nearly 80% of ARL Libraries either have, or are in the process of planning, an institutional repository. The average expenditure is high, but ironically, the majority of implementers report managing without a dedicated budget.

To me, this reflects a common irony in the wired world; that is, one can spend a great deal on a project, while your neighbour sets up on a shoestring. Sometimes the big spender ends up with a better product - but not always!

The front page and executive summary of this, and other SPEC kits from Issue 200, is now freely available, in another example of an OA-hybrid. To me, this represents real progress towards OA in a format (monograph) which is not truly part of the OA target. The SPEC Survey program is highly regarded amongst academic libraries, encompassing timely, key management topics in academic libraries, with the high response rate of the Institutional Repository survey (71%) being typical.

Many thanks to Charles Bailey on Digital Koans.

Thanks as always to Peter Suber, and kudos to ARL!

This post reflects my personal opinion only and does not represent the opinions or policy of the BC Electronic Library Network or the Simon Fraser University Library.