Abid Hussain
AFTER the invention of the World Wide Web (1989), the concept of ‘Open Repository’ took place earlier in 1990. The first project was introduced for the Repository of Physics Arxiv in 1991 and can still be viewed on the Web. The purpose of this project was to showcase the research contribution of scholars in the field of physics. Different softwares emerged for repository of research works in around the countries, but of them, few are the most popular which can be used for research repository free of cost, like Dspace, It is an open access repository software initially launched in November 2002, this software is highly commendable for presenting scholarly contents in digital format.
Other popular software are BRICKS (Building Resources for Integrated Cultural Knowledge Services which is also an open-source software for digital assets. The other one is Aigaion is a web-based reference management software run by various institutions for repository purposes. Institutional Repository synonymously is a digital archive of scholarly works produced by the institutions in multidisciplinary subjects. Under this project theses, research papers, monographs, conference reports and similar scholarly contents can be collected, organized, and distributed for communities and individuals researching at the university level.
Different institutions in Pakistan have initiated these services through indigenous software for showcasing their research like Libmax, Library Content Manager and so on. The Higher Education Commission of Pakistan had undertaken a project of Pakistan Research Repository (2006) in order to promote our research in the international visibility of research organization out of institutes in Pakistan. The purpose of such a project was to maintain digital archives of all scholarly works produced by universities in Pakistan at both public and private levels. The website can be found with URL address http://prr.hec.gov.pk/jspui/. This project was initiated in March 2006 under the supervision of then chairman Dr. Ataurrahman. Initially few PhDs theses were uploaded for public access and few people were addressed to visit the link and quench their research thirst with the help of scientific research.
Around the world, different strategies and infrastructure have been adopted for scholarly and repository contents in order to showcase their research for scholars in different continents. Pakistan has adopted a national model approach under the direction of Higher Education Commission Pakistan (HEC) named Pakistan Research Repository (PRR). It is based on centralized management and allows scholars to access the record of scholarly contents produced at the local level. HEC in collaboration with universities and research organizations in Pakistan has created this project in order to grant maximum access to the published research of various varsities. It is an open-access research repository for teachers, students and staff of universities in Pakistan.
Many scholars in Pakistan are oblivious and are addressed by their faculties. It is the moral duties of professors, librarians and researchers to share this website with other scholars having difficulties in browsing similar literatures. The purpose of this short insight means to exhibit our research with scholars, who are unfamiliar from Pakistan Research Repository. HEC’s prime purpose for Pakistan Research Repository (PPR) was to explore the proposed project envisaged by the HEC and grant access to actual records being presented, and to critically analyze the prevailing situation and future scenario about PRR. Apart from this, the project was initiated to perform quantitative analysis of the present collection of a repository based on subject, institution, type and year; and to identify measures for improving the performance of PRR.
I may suggest to the higher authority of HEC to also ensure latest theses of Master, MPhil. Besides these, all conferences reports, monographs and similar scholarly work may also be exhibited through Research Repository website. The website may be improved by including different parameters like in google scholar accounts. Researchers of public and private universities may be granted a login password as like of Turnitin and should be convinced to publish their articles which are being contributed to national and international journals. Standard policy for open-access repositories should also be made available on Pakistan Research Repository Website.
—The writer is working as Library Officer in Institute of Strategic Studies, a think-think based in Islamabad.
