Introducing the WPSphere Institutional Repository William Paterson University joins the Open Access movement by launching WPSphere, our new institutional repository. WPSphere is the name of the University’s new institutional repository, now available for contributions from the campus community. Designed using the open source repository software DSpace, WPSphere offers a platform for the wide dissemination of research and scholarship, including articles, conference papers, presentations, theses, dissertations, and research data sets. The repository will also host digitized materials from the University archives, including reports, newsletters, data sets, and other materials, along with new digital projects. The Cheng Library’s Digital Initiatives Librarian, Annamarie Klose Hrubes, manages all aspects of WPSphere. Since the repository went live in the spring, she has been working with faculty to add the kind of materials that fall within the scope of the repository’s collection guidelines, with over 70 items now accessible. During the 2018-2019 school year she is expanding her outreach and promotional efforts across the campus to reach all colleges and other campus units. As Klose Hrubes explains, “WPSphere serves the needs of the University by providing faculty and students with a means of showcasing their work and making it widely accessible around the world. The repository is consistent with the University’s core value of striving ‘to expand the boundaries of knowledge and creative expression in and outside of our classrooms.’” Faculty who contribute to WPSphere retain the copyright to their work and grant the University a license to make the material available through the repository. Most academic publishers now permit faculty authors to make the “accepted manuscript” version of an article (an article that has gone through a complete peer-review process, including revisions) available through a repository. This is also known as “self-archiving” and “green open access.” Contributors to WPSphere will enjoy many benefits, including much wider circulation of their work, which can result in greater impact. Materials in WPSphere are quickly indexed in Google and appear in search results. Faculty can place direct links to their work on their homepages. The repository also logs usage data for contributors. Submitting a contribution to WPSphere is easy. Faculty have the option of creating a personal account and using an online submission form, or they can simply contact Klose Hrubes for assistance. Klose Hrubes is also happy to assist faculty who provide a copy of their curriculum vitae by identifying publishers who permit self-archiving of manuscripts, so older publications can also be included. An online guide has been created to provide a more detailed orientation to WPSphere and address basic questions. As the repository grows through greater interaction with campus community stakeholders, the guide will be updated with new information. For more information about WPSphere and how it can serve your needs, please contact Annamarie Klose Hrubes at 973-720-2345 or klosehrubesa@wpunj.edu. October 03, 2018
