DSpace Services / Information Services / NITLE

Participating colleges interested in open-source, managed institutional repository services can enroll in our DSpace Services, designed for smaller colleges and universities and the non-profit organizations that serve them. As a fully managed service, DSpace Services allow campuses to start and grow their digital repositories with a minimal level of investment, with no hardware to purchase and very little application support expertise to develop. Campuses focus on the work of building digital repositories within the context of a community of campuses sharing ideas and best practices. Find out more below, or go directly to our online enrollment form for DSpace Standard and Customized Services.

Why institutional repositories?

Using an institutional repository provides a foundation and basis from which to capture, store, preserve, index, and distribute the digital assets of an institution. An institutional repository service allows campuses to manage and distribute digital intellectual materials, share them within the campus community or larger contexts, and preserve

electronic theses and dissertations;
digitized historical archives or special collections;
digital image collections;
academic research data and datasets;
college or campus publications;
multimedia objects, such as recorded presentations; and
learning objects.

In short, institutional repositories enable campuses to create an always-available, shared space that can be accessed asynchronously and as needed to support learning and collaboration intra- and inter-institutionally.

What do the DSpace Services offer?

The DSpace Services offer storage for the preservation and management of important institutional assets; an interface that can be integrated with the institution’s visual identity; and, if the institution chooses to share repository content inter-institutionally, the potential to catalyze collaborative opportunities across campuses. Campuses can use the services to:

Showcase and preserve the intellectual work of their campus communities;
Promote and publicize student research and enrich campus intellectual exchange, expanding their capacity to produce knowledge;
Reorient the scholarly publication system for faculty research to allow for shared control of intellectual property rights between institutions and publishers;
Archive and provide access to born-digital documents, and in so doing, explore fully-digital library workflows;
Provide an infrastructure that supports successful intra- and inter-institutional collaboration.

What services are available?

DSpace Standard Service: 50 GB of storage in a segmented instance of DSpace with additional storage available. Standard updates and other service changes occur on a pre-determined schedule. Includes server and application maintenance.
DSpace Customized Service: 100 GB of storage in a customizable instance of DSpace dedicated strictly to the enrolled campus, with additional storage available. Includes server and application maintenance.
Authentication Services: campuses can choose either LDAP binding or Shibboleth binding.
Consulting services: technical consultation on DSpace, available to any participating college regardless of enrollment in NITLE's DSpace Services. Campuses can use these consulting services for projects involving the transfer of legacy data, research, and general problem-solving. Consultation on custom coding is available to Customized Service enrollees only.

What must the enrolled campus provide?

Campuses enrolled in NITLE DSpace Services must provide:

A campus DSpace Coordinator. The coordinator serves as the local resource for service-related questions, communicates with NITLE about the service, and acts as campus point of contact for the service.
A campus technical contact. Important information or questions of a technical nature will be communicated to the technical contact.

Is training available?

Yes. NITLE offers several training/professional development options open to all participating colleges regardless of enrollment in NITLE DSpace Services.

Regular DSpace User Community Meetings, which faculty and staff members from participating colleges use to share knowledge and experiences, learn from one another, and identify areas for on-going collaboration. This peer-support network enables campuses to share best practices in pedagogy; exchange information about technical and support issues; avoid duplication of effort; and collaborate to develop better solutions. See our program calendar for a complete listing of face-to-face and virtual meetings.
Our online training sessions, "Start an Institutional Repository Using DSpace" and “Manage Your Digital Content with DSpace,” which are both delivered online via Multipoint Interactive Videoconferencing (MIV). See our program calendar for scheduled instances.
"Digital Repositories: Using DSpace," available upon request. (Find out more about our Workshops-to-Go program.)

How were these services developed?

NITLE DSpace Services originated from discussions among campus leaders who participated in the NITLE delegation to the 2004 CNI meeting; from a joint RFP for repository services issued by Carleton College, Middlebury College, Trinity University, and Dickinson College and discussed at a NITLE-sponsored gathering at ALA in June 2006; and from on-going collegial consideration of possible collaborative repository projects in a variety of contexts and gatherings.

In late 2006, NITLE launched a pilot program for managed institutional repository services. Twenty-six of our participating colleges helped pioneer this pilot effort, which laid the foundation for the development of these production-level DSpace Services. To all who contributed to early conversations and the development and testing of the pilot service, please accept our thanks and appreciation.

Whom should I contact with questions?

To enroll in or ask questions about our DSpace Services or to share your ideas for other similar services that would be useful to your campus, please contact Christina Richison.

Information Services - DSpace Services