Interview with Michael Holt, Librarian, Valdosta State University and links to his institutional repository (permission granted):
How and where did you hear about CMS?
The first I heard about the CMS was from an MLIS professor at our library who had started a pilot project to create an institutional repository at Valdosta State University using the software around 2007. Soon, our project to start an IR at our institution was rolled into a statewide initiative that used the same CMS and it has taken off from there.
What were your motivations to adopt CMS for its current use?
We use our CMS as an institutional repository. This means that we use it to house and preserve our institution’s research and other output in a manner that assures its preservation and accessibility. We also implemented the system as part of a statewide institutional repository program, the GALILEO Knowledge Repository (GKR). The system is linked off of our library’s website and is administered by library staff, but it is not technically part of the library’s website.
What was your decision making criteria? What is the name of CMS you are using now?
The system was chosen primarily because it was the one used by the GKR initiative. The name of the CMS we currently use is called Dspace. We had chosen DSpace before the GKR initiative began, primarily because it was a stable open source solution. However, we have stuck with Dspace because it is the choice of the GKR and makes communication between institutional repositories much easier.
What are the important benefits or advantages of CMS you are using now over the old system or another CMS system you've used in the past?
Well, we had no real CMS before Dspace, so the advantages of any CMS vs. no CMS are pretty clear in my mind. Having a CMS has exponentially increased our ability to provide access to institutional research output that would otherwise never have been discovered. Because it is indexed by google, our research is getting used in ways I never would have thought possible before we implemented it.
How was the learning curve?
The learning curve for me was extremely steep. I more or less had to become a systems administrator for our Dspace installation before it was all over. However, this clearly would not be the case at other institutions where there is more IT staff to dedicate to library CMS software. I can’t imagine the learning curve would be that steep for a knowledgeable IT person. But if you don’t have IT experience, get ready for a crash course in UNIX shell operations, java script, postgresql, and other administrative tasks.
To take a look at the CMS in action one can check out the following links:
Vtext (Local Dspace install) – http://vtext.valdosta.edu
GKR site: www.gaknowledge.org
Dspace website: www.dspace.org/
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I was very impressed by Michael Holt as he shows, yet again, the librarian who has to wear many, many hats to fulfill patrons' needs. In another academic institution, he would have no need to be the creator and maintainer of such an involved project of this magnitude and technical difficulty. If it were not for him, VSU would not have an institutional repository and what an embarrassment that would be for VSU, Odum and, in particular, the MLIS Department.
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