Capturing knowledge in institutional repositories: playing leapfrog with giraffes

Abstract

Giraffes do not play leap frog, these animals however symbolise the giants whose shoulders one can stand. Leapfrogging requires action, get moving, and get playing. A digital repository is a database or catalogue where digital content and assests are stored and can be searched and retrieved for future use. A repository thus enables staff and institutions to manage and preserve content and thus driving maximum value from the content. The University of Pretoria with Dr Heila Pienaar started the move in 2004, when Dr Heila Pienaar was assigned to establish a digital repository for the university and in the year 2006 the project was launched. October 2006 the CSIR Information Services took off to establish an institutional repository, with the help of the experienced (UP). The standard time to set up a successful repository is reported to be three years. However UP with the knowledge gained form experience of others and a lot of hard work the period was reduced to two years and the CSIR was able to complete the project in 12 months. Lessons learnt. It is important to have the courage to experiment; it is lonely and frustrating to play by one-self. Make others aware that you would like to play and they’ll gladly help you leapfrog; and unfortunately: playing leapfrog is not the same as playing catch-up. The first step is to establish trust then be prepared to learn, to experiment, to work hard and to have fun