Access Policies in Institutional Digital Repositories: Analysis of Global Trends

Abstract

This paper compared and contrasted the open access (OA) self-archiving policies of different organizations registered in OpenDOAR, ROAR and ROARMAP databases. It highlights and discusses key policies along with several issues to suggest an institute-specific model policy framework in the line of recommendations and best practises of IDRs (Institutional Digital Repositories) listed in global tertiary sources in green open access ROARMAP, OpenDOAR and ROAR. This paper focuses on IDR policy issues concerning rights, access, and user interfaces. A total of 66 repositories have been selected after overlap checking and based on the selection parameters mentioned in the methodology section. It has been discovered that most IDRs lack policies in the four areas mentioned. Several policy issues are missing, and some of the policy issues used by these repositories are still being developed and improved. Based on the study, some suggestions for the development of IDR policies have been made. It has implications for administrators, funding agencies, policymakers, and professional librarians in developing repository policies of their own.

Keywords

• open access repository
• digital library
• copyright & licensing policy
• embargo policy
• self-archiving policy