Creating a multipurpose digital institutional repository

DigitalCommons@ILR is a multipurpose institutional repository (IR) for scholarship produced by faculty at the School of Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University. Unlike most IRs, it also functions as a subject-based repository for workplace-related information. This paper will discuss the issues involved in the implementation of DigitalCommons@ILR, including the choice of software, collection scope and policies, organization, and staffing. Keys to success in developing repository content, including building administrative support and developing partnerships, will be noted. Introduction The Catherwood Library, a unit within the Cornell University Library system, physically resides in and is funded by Cornell’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations (ILR). In addition to its four-year undergraduate program and graduate programs focusing on workplace issues, ILR offers practioner-based programming at five Extension sites throughout New York State. The ILR School currently consists of 110 resident and extension faculty, and library staff have many opportunities to work closely with these faculty through reference, instruction, and outreach services. The Catherwood Library collections, including the special collections housed in its Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives, serve as a comprehensive national resource for workplace-related information. Due to a desire within ILR to better promote the work of its faculty and researchers in a cohesive manner, along with the Catherwood Library’s interest in obtaining and preserving scholarly information produced by ILR, a school-wide committee was formed to discuss the possibilities. This committee, which was endorsed by the ILR Dean, had representation from the library, resident and extension faculty, the ILR Web Team, and a technology specialist from the