Reviewing repository discoverability: approaches to improving repository visibility and web impact

Resource developing and exposing rich digital collections using a variety of repository technologies has been invested. In the UK this investment has resulted in unprecedented usage of institutional repositories, as evidenced by data from IRUS-UK (1). However, not all institutions have demonstrated commitment to exposing this scholarly content as optimally as possible, or rendering their repository as usable as possible. It is clear that many repositories have not enjoyed maintenance beyond establishment of the repository itself and the ongoing development of its scholarly collection. Such institutions may work hard to promote their repository content but if little is done to optimise for discovery these repositories may remain relatively unexposed (2). A significant future challenge for repositories, and the Open Access movement more generally, is therefore to ensure user expectations are better met and, in so doing, improving the index penetration of the content they wish to expose. This poster reviews work recently undertaken on Strathprints (3), the University of Strathclyde institutional repository built on EPrints 3.3.13, to improve repository web visibility and user engagement, thereby improving usage. Expanding on previous brief reports (4) and using Strathprints as a case study, a summary of the approach adopted is provided, comparative search traffic data and usage metrics are analysed and conclusions drawn. Results are likely to positively inform repository practitioners and open scientists.