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Repositories and Preprint Servers

About Repositories

RepositoryIn a library or research setting, repositories are collections of research, scholarly, or creative work that may include the following types of files:

  • Articles: preprints, manuscripts, or final version of record
  • Conference proceedings: minutes, papers
  • Poster presentations
  • Learning objects: slides, notes, handouts, etc.
  • Images
  • Multimedia: sound, recordings, video
  • Research data

Repositories can focus on work done by members of an organization or institution (known as institutional repositories) or within a discipline (known as a disciplinary repository).  Scholars and creators submit their work to repositories to make it available to more people, or to preserve their work so it will be permanently available in one virtual location and provide links to it.  Government agencies or research funders may have public access policies that require outputs of their funded research to be made publicly available.  Repositories can help scholars and creators fulfill these requirements.

Repositories are made visible on the internet through web crawlers and search engines. Their web presence is increased through being indexed by larger online repositories (e.g., Digital Public Library of America) so the work they contain be found and used by interested searchers.  

Related Research Guides and Web Sites

Looking for a repository?

Find a Repository: Generalist and Domain-Specific

FAU Digital Library - FAU's Institutional Repository

Last updated on Mar 18, 2024 9:26 AM