West Virginia University Libraries has launched the Research Repository @ WVU, an online, openly available, home for the scholarship, creative work and research of University faculty, researchers and students.

“The Research Repository @ WVU provides the University community with a library-supported platform for sharing their work with the worldwide scholarly community,” said Ian Harmon, scholarly communications librarian.

Harmon said the Research Repository, available at researchrepository.wvu.edu, can increase a work’s impact, provide free access to federally funded research and share findings with researchers and others within West Virginia and around the world who may not be able to afford high journal subscription fees. The Repository is a collaboration between the Libraries and the WVU Office of Research.

“The Research Repository is going to give faculty a place in which they can deposit their work and the public can easily access it,” said Melanie Page, associate vice president for creative and scholarly activities. “We will reach a broader academic and non-academic audience, and thus our impact on the state will be even greater than it currently is.”

Interim Dean of Libraries Karen Diaz considers the Repository as in line with Libraries’ evolving role in supporting WVU’s academic mission.

“The Research Repository @ WVU joins a growing list of similar initiatives happening at academic institutions around the world,” Diaz said. “As we serve our community and the world by preserving and sharing WVU-conducted research, we are also responding to a global call for free access to information, be it a study of literary trends or life-saving discoveries.”

Initially, the Repository will contain the Libraries’ collection of Electronic Theses and Dissertations, the WVU Law Review and images from the WVU Herbarium. University faculty, staff and students can now submit their scholarly and creative works, publications, working papers, conference presentations, posters, technical reports, datasets and other research. Those who want to submit materials should contact Harmon at ian.harmon@mail.wvu.edu or fill out a consultation request form.

To assist the process, the Libraries are piloting an arrangement in which librarians will review faculty-provided CVs and publication lists to determine what previously published materials can be uploaded to the Repository. In most cases, Open Access journals allow authors to deposit copies of their articles in their institution’s repository without restrictions.

OA refers to free online access to digital full-text scientific and scholarly material, primarily research articles published in peer-reviewed journals.

Harmon encourages anyone hesitant to submit their work to request a consultation with a librarian to discuss an issue and explore publishing options. For example, it is possible to embargo an article being published elsewhere.

“It’s important to understand how to manage your publishing rights,” Harmon said. “You own your rights until you say otherwise. You can negotiate those agreements.”

For those interested in learning more about the Repository, the Libraries are offering multiple sessions for two workshops over the next few weeks.

The first program focuses on how the new resource can support one’s work and will be offered Nov. 7 from 4-5 p.m. in Evansdale Library, Room 130; and Nov. 9 from noon-1 p.m. in the Health Sciences Library, Room LC-1.

The second outlines the process for submitting an ETD to the Research Repository, a requirement of all graduate students who write a thesis, dissertation or problem/project report for their degree program. Session are scheduled for Wednesday (Oct. 31) from 4-5 p.m. in the Downtown Campus Library, Room 136; Nov. 8 from 4-5 p.m. in Evansdale Library, Room G16; and Nov. 12 from noon-1 p.m. in the Health Sciences Library, Room LC-3.