Volume 8, Issue 1, Fall 2006

Library Seeks Participants for Pilot Phase of Digital Repository

This fall, the Library and CITES plan to launch the pilot phase of IDEALS, a digital repository for the scholarly works of campus faculty, staff, and students.  The Library currently seeks assistance from faculty, departments, and other academic units for the initial phase of the project.

IDEALS, the Illinois Digital Environment for Access to Learning and Scholarship, will provide many benefits for faculty and the campus as a whole:

• Free service allowing faculty to make their publications widely accessible.
• Permanent URL for accessing digital publications and related materials.
• Long-term preservation of research and scholarship in digital form.
• Multiple avenues for dissemination of scholarly works, such as Google Scholar and OAIster.
• Increased visibility of the research of faculty and their departments or units.
• Worldwide accessibility from a variety of locations.

IDEALS will include a variety of digital materials, such as publications, reports, working papers, presentations, and symposia proceedings.  While Library staff currently are focusing on increasing content through the addition of materials in text, image, or audio format, they also are exploring the collection of research data.  Interested parties are invited to contact IDEALS coordinators Sarah Shreeves (4-3877) or Cindy Ingold (3-7998).

 IDEALS is funded by the Library with support from the Office of the Provost.