Chapter 7 summary

Factors influencing repositories

In two questions, the respondents were asked to select the three most important stimulants for the development of their digital repository and the three most important inhibitors out of 14 factors.

More than 25% of the respondents listed as the most important stimulants for the development of digital repositories: (1) the increased visibility for the publications of the academics; (2) a simple and userfriendly depositing process; (3) awareness campaigns for academics; and (4) interest from decision makers in the institute.

More than 25% of the respondents listed as the most important inhibitors for the development of digital repositories: (1) the lack of an institutional policy of mandatory depositing; (2) the situation with regard to copyright of (to be) published materials and the knowledge about this among academics in our institute; and (3) the lack of requirements of research funding organisations about depositing research output in Open Access repositories.

Highest priority issue on European agenda

In an open question the respondents were asked to state which issues should be highest on the priority list for the development of digital repositories in Europe. The need for (specific) services was mentioned most (n=16), followed by issues with regard to copyright (n=11), the need for mandatory policies with regard to depositing (n=10), coordination and harmonisation issues (n=8) and issues of advocacy (n=7).