Microdata in the IR: A Low-Barrier Approach to Enhancing Discovery of Institutional Repository Materials in Google

Abstract

Georgetown University Library curates a multitude of open access resources in its institutional repository and digital collections portal, DigitalGeorgetown. Over the last several years, the Library has experimented with methods for making these items increasingly visible in search engine search results. This article describes the Library’s low-barrier approach to applying Schema.org vocabulary to its DSpace institutional repository using microdata, as well as the challenges with and strategies used for assessing this work. The effects of the application of Schema.org microdata to DigitalGeorgetown on Google search results were tracked over time using three different metrics, providing new insights about its impact.