Embracing the future: Embedding digital repositories in higher education institutions

W ith the advances of technology, an increasing number of higher education institutions (HEIs) have implemented digital repositories (DRs). DRs can help HEIs to develop coherent and coordinated approaches to capture, identify, store and retrieve such intellectual assets as audio-visual objects, data-sets, presentations, learning material and research papers. Th is has allowed various stakeholders to benefi t from DRs by enabling quicker, easier, wider and remote access to deposits, increasing visibility and adding value to the intellectual assets of the organisation. Despite their potential benefi ts, repositories have yet to reach their full potential. Some HEIs have concerns about awareness of and commitment to repositories, and about their sustainability in future. Th is briefi ng paper provides guidance to HEIs that wish to invest in DRs as part of their institutional strategy. Th e potential benefi ts of DRs are diff erent for researchers and for library staff ; therefore the motivations to support investments in DRs will diff er between stakeholder groups. Th is brief outlines stakeholder-specifi c motivations and proposes strategies to address the barriers that HEIs have encountered when embedding DRs in their institutional strategy.