Library and Information Science Open Access: A Review of the Last Six Years in an International Multilingual Environment

Abstract

E-LIS (http://eprints.rclis.org) is an international Open Archive for Library and Information Science (LIS) established in 2003. Over 9,000 papers have been archived to date. E-LIS has grown to include a team of volunteer editors from 60 countries and support for 22 languages. It accepts published or unpublished documents in scientific or technical areas; authors can self-archive and a proxy service supports depositors. Metadata are set for each document type and are checked in accordance with editorial guidelines set by an international editorial committee. In few years, E-LIS has been established as the largest international open repository in the field of library and information science. Searching or browsing E-LIS is a kind of multilingual, multicultural experience, an example of what could be accomplished through open access archives to bring the people of the world together. Because librarians are so involved in open access advocacy, E-LIS is a key to encouraging open access for all repositories, by giving librarians the experience they need to speak with confidence when talking with researchers and open access archives, and the experience to provide the best possible assistance to self-archiving faculty. The mission of E-LIS is to remain international and world-wide: a place where people from all over the world can deposit their documents and contribute to the world-wide dissemination of knowledge: • to improve knowledge of the building and management of open archives working practically in the field within the framework of Open Digital Libraries; • not only to promote open archives in various disciplinary environments, but also to create a valid and credible model in LIS discipline for the building of a world Library and Information Science archive; • to establish a base for communal work between librarians information technology professionals, and to enhance the Open Access movement. In the presentation we would like to expose the following topics: 1. the main characteristics of the E-LIS platform; 2. the specific customizations that have been taken place during the last years; 3. how E-LIS deals with the multilinguality and differents scripts; 4. how E-LIS manages an editorial team with more than 60 people; 5. the issues during the migration from Eprints 2 to Eprints 3; 6. Interaction ways with end users; 7. Future developments and agreements with other partners.