Roles and Responsibilities of Library Professionals in Managing Open- access Institutional Repositories

Institutional repositories (IRs) have become indispensable platforms for academic institutions to preserve, disseminate, and promote open access to scholarly outputs.Managed by library professionals, IRs play a crucial role in advancing scholarly communication by facilitating global access to research articles, theses, datasets, and other scholarly materials.This article examines library professionals' pivotal roles and responsibilities in managing open-access IRs.Key responsibilities include content acquisition and management, technical infrastructure maintenance, policy development and compliance, user support and training, and promotion and advocacy.Library professionals ensure the acquisition and organisation of scholarly content while adhering to copyright regulations and metadata standards to enhance discoverability.They collaborate with IT specialists to maintain secure and user-friendly repository platforms, implement policies to govern content submission and access and provide user support through workshops and consultations.By advocating for open-access principles and promoting repository use, librarians enhance institutional research's visibility and impact.Despite resource constraints and copyright complexities, library professionals innovate to meet evolving technological and scholarly needs, ensuring the long-term preservation and accessibility of scholarly knowledge through IRs.