Abstract:
As part of the Welsh Repository Network (WRN) Enhancement Project (WRN-EP) an experimental service, the Mediated Deposit Bureau (MDB), was used to investigate the effect of outsourcing repository deposit on institutional repository services.
Working with a selection of pilot institutions from WRN partners, the project team based at Aberystwyth University took responsibility for the deposit of a number of identified collections. The objectives of the MDB were to:
1. Directly increase the number of deposited items within each repository.
2. Identify per unit costs, in both time and money, for repository item deposit.
3. Engage institution staff with the repository deposit process in an attempt to embed the processes involved within their working cycle and further increase deposit.
4. Encourage further deposit by academic staff within each repository through the presence of new repository deposits.
It is the second objective which provides the focus for this paper.
