Browse Exhibits (5 total)

Authors

Hanz Olson, Librarian and Archivist

Eddie Siebert, Casper College English Major

What is an Institutional Repository?

An Institutional Repository (IR) is “a digital archive created by academic, research, or scholarly institutions to collect, manage, preserve, and disseminate the intellectual and scholarly outputs of the institution” (Ashikuzzaman, 2025).

Beamer and Jewell cite Stephen Pinfield writing about the relationship between journals and repositories, "IRs are thus broadly defined as “a set of services that a university offers to the members of its community for the management and dissemination of digital materials created by the institution and its community members” (Pinfield, 2009, p. 165). The authors also site research findings that IRs are often organized by discipline

With the aim of inspiring connections and research activities. the Casper College School of Arts and Humanities IR--in its development and design phase--seeks to provide a stable platform for either the previously accepted or currently non-accepted work for publication of Casper College faculty and students within the school and from across other programs and departments. The work of designing and managing the IR is being performed in the Casper College Goodstein Foundation Library. Ashikuzzaman writes, "With the advancement of digital technologies, academic libraries have increasingly turned to Institutional Repositories (IRs) to enhance their services, facilitate access to scholarly content, and improve the overall user experience (Ashikuzzaman, 2025)."

Reasons to add material to the IR revolve around supporting open scholarship and undergraduate research activities. The IR might be a good support for students completing an independent study and working on a project with faculty as research mentors. Students' use of institutional repositories at their place of higher education can function as materials for a portfolio or future application too.

What do IRs Support?

• Open, long-term, and organized access principles
• Academic and research activities and their impact visibility
• Research collaboration and networking
• Knowledge sharing and accreditation
• Academic integrity and citation practices

Rights

Rights holders can select whether they want to publish under an open license or retain their copyright. Faculty can submit pre- or post-print publications and can also use the repository to create dynamic learning resources using their own open materials.

Materials added can be made publicly accessible on the open web or maintained in the IR for use in the college's course management system or other future uses. Access to materials not on the open web can be provided to faculty and students by the library.

Requests from rights holders to take down material published in the repository will be observed. Please contact the Goodstein Foundation Library's School of Arts and Humanities Library Liaison to make a request.

Materials Sought Include but are not Limited to:

• Published faculty publications and syllabi (as copyright permits)
• Published student publications (as copyright permits)
• Currently Unpublished work by faculty, students, and Casper College alumni
  • Art or art practice or scholarship as in Madison Harvey's interview and notebooks on Romans 12:2 following the spring 2023 Casper College Juried Student Art Show
  • Beginning Ballet student research projects as a way to progress library contribution to its next NASD accreditation.
  • Graphic Design projects and/or writing about graphic design as in Rayna Januska's 2023 Casper College Literary Conference Zine
  • Music notations and sound engineering projects
  • Photography and/or interviews or writing on a photographer's experience as in Devon King's interview on his Ethereal Ephemerality following the spring 2023 Casper College Juried Student Art Show
  • Presentation outputs and/or presentation supporting materials in support of undergraduate research
  • Undergraduate Analysis and Research in American Literature
• Published Expression magazine submissions for inclusion in an open digital gallery
  • Artwork (ceramics, computer animation, digital and physical illustration, etc)
  • Creative writing (prose and poetry)
  • Music
  • Costume and makeup design
  • Architectural design
  • Short films
• Open scholarship and other research activities as befitting the repository

Deposits can be coordinated at time of publishing with Expression or post publication.

If you'd like to see your published or currently unpublished work in this repository, please fill out this form.

If you are faculty and would like to deposit your syllabi into the IR, please fill out this form.

References:

Ashikuzzaman, Md. "The Role of Institutional Repositories in Library for Providing Better Services to Users," LIS Education Network. May 2, 2025, https://www.lisedunetwork.com/the-role-of-institutional-repository-in-library-for-providing-better-services-to-users/. Accessed 23 July 2025.

Beamer, Jennifer and Sumayyah Jewell. Introduction to the Library's Institutional Repository for Scholarly Communication. Press Books, 2022, https://pressbooks.claremont.edu/thelibraryinstitutionalrepository/. Accessed 23 July 2025.

Finlay, Stephen Craig. The Complete Guide to Institutional Repositories. Chicago, ALA Editions, 2021.

The Casper College School of Social and Behavioral Sciences Institutional Repository (IR) is designed to provide a stable platform for either the previously accepted or currently non-accepted work for publication of Casper College faculty and students within the school. Faculty are encouraged to submit pre- or post-print publications or create dynamic learning resources within the IR using their own materials. Materials added can be made publicly accesible on the open web or maintained in the IR for use in the college's course management system. Access to materials not on the open web can also be provided to faculty and students by the library. 

Requests from rights holders to take down material published in the repository will be observed. Please contact the Goodstein Foundation Library's School of Arts and Humanities Library liaison.