DINI institutional repository certification and beyond

• Published in: Library hi tech Vol. 24; no. 4; pp. 583 - 594
• Main Authors: Dobratz, Susanne, Scholze, Frank
• Format: Journal Article Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: Bradford Emerald Group Publishing Limited 01.01.2006; Emerald
• Subjects: Academic libraries; Archives management; Authenticity; Awards & honors; Certification; Collaboration; Collection management; Colleges & universities; Digital archives; Digital certificates; Digital libraries; Digital storage; Electronic documents; Exact sciences and technology; Funding; Germany; Higher education; Information and communication sciences; Information science. Documentation; Information service management; Information services; Infrastructure; Initiatives; Institutional repositories; Interoperability; Library and documentation centre management; Metadata; Open access; Preservation. Storage; Public access; Publishing; Quality control; Sciences and techniques of general use; Studies; Subject indexing; Task forces; Working groups; Workshops; Europe; Germany; Digital storage; Germany; Archives management; Reference model; Institutional repository; Document preservation; Electronic storage; Archives; Certification
• ISSN: 0737-8831; 2054-166X
• DOI: 10.1108/07378830610715446

Purpose - The purpose of this article is to provide an overview on certification of institutional repositories as a means to support open access in Germany and a description of the DINI Certificate 2006 developed by DINI, the German Initiative for Networked Information. Design methodology approach - The "DINI certificate for document and publication repositories" shows potential users and authors of digital documents that a certain level of quality in operating the repository is guaranteed and that this distinguishes it from common institutional web servers. The certificate can also be used as an instrument to support open access. Findings - Repository certification will not be the main factor in achieving open access to academic information globally, but it can support the spread of institutional repositories and enhance visibility of the "institutional repository"-service. Research limitations implications - The DINI Certificate as a "soft" certificate aims towards interoperability of digital repositories, the coaching idea prevails. It does not provide an exhaustive auditing tool for trusted digital long-term preservation archives. Practical implications - The "DINI certificate for document and publication repositories" pushed the development of institutional repositories in Germany according to certain organisational and technical standards and contributes to the interoperability amongst digital repositories worldwide. Originality value - This paper describes a unique approach that has been implemented in Germany and could be transferred to other countries and communities.