DSpace : An Institutional Repository from the MIT Libraries and Hewlett Packard Laboratories

Abstract

The DSpace™ project of the MIT Libraries and the Hewlett Packard Laboratories has built an institutional repository system for digital research material. This paper will describe the rationale for institutional repositories, the DSpace system, and its implementation at MIT. Also described are the plans for making DSpace open source in an effort to provide a useful test bed and a platform for future research in the areas of open scholarly communication and the long-term preservation of fragile digital research material.