University of Alberta Libraries

Digital Repository Services

The Library operates a number of services and holds many collections, which rely heavily on a robust digital repository infrastructure. ERA , U of A's Institutional Repository, provides a mechanism for storing many types of institutionally relevant born-digital or retrospectively converted digital materials. The Libraries digitization and extensive digital collections (e.g. purchased eBooks) are also managed using different digital repository strategies and architectures.

Repository technologies in current use include Fedora with U of A developed public-facing interfaces, and an earlier installation of DSpace which is used with our e-theses. For more information, please see our Technical Specifications page and our Digital Preservation page.

U of A Libraries is exploring new avenues for deeper access and use of our digital materials via APIs, shared tools and other mechanisms. We are excited to be working with CWRC (Canadian Writing Research Collaboratory) on a CFI funded project to co-develop Fedora-based repository service layers for better studying and working with digital texts and objects. We hope to learn from this project and grow our repository services to scale with the new demands coming out of our research communities.

Publishing/Production Services

U of A Libraries has been a leader in the retrospective digitization of print and microform materials into digital formats, with a strong focus towards ensuring access to Western Canadiana historical materials. We are involved in several initiatives as identified on our Digitization information page. If you have an idea for a project or are seeking further information on how digitization works, please contact us.

The Libraries also provide support for members of the University of Alberta community who want to publish in Open Access formats by offering several publishing options, including use of the Open Journal System for managing online scholarly journals. For more information on OJS, OA publishing and who to contact, please visit our OA Publishing pages

Projects and Grant-funded Opportunities

The Library has received grants and sponsorships from various agencies and institutions for operating digitization projects and other digital initiatives. We are currently working with several research teams on CFI or other jointly supported collaborations.

We are always interested in hearing of and discussing opportunities for joint applications and collaborations on library-related digital projects. If you have an idea you would like to discuss or are seeking more information on what the Library may be able to provide or work with you on, please contact the Library to discuss.