After much deliberation, the University Libraries have decided to use Digital Commons as the software platform for the digital repository project.
Digital Commons is a hosted institutional repository (IR) software platform which offers the features of a traditional IR (storage, management, retrieval, and online dissemination of digital assets) as well as professional-grade publishing software, management tools, and individual faculty and researcher pages. Digital Commons is developed and maintained by Berkeley Electronic Press (bepress).
There are a number reasons why this selection was made. This system meets a very high percentage of our stated functional requirements (especially with regard to faculty-centered features, an area that the other systems under consideration were lacking on). The fact that the system is hosted also means that the library will be able to get it up and running much more quickly, allowing us to spend more time focusing on outreach and content development, and less time on server/system configuration.
Digital Commons is used by dozens of academic institutions in the U.S., including many major research universities.
Some examples can be found at the links below:
- Syracuse University
- University of Nebraska – Lincoln
- Cornell University
- University of Massachusetts – Amherst
We are confident that Digital Commons will provide a solid foundation for building collections, collaborating with scholars, and promoting the repository as a locus of scholarly activity for the Loyola community.
