Advancing the Dissemination and Preservation of Community-Based Research Products in Institutional Repositories

Community-based research often involves communities working in partnership with academic researchers to address issues and problems that the community has raised. Much of this work results in diverse publicly available materials that strive to inform public policy, strengthen funding proposals, empower community members, and advance social change. This article reports on a recent qualitative study exploring the role of institutional repositories in disseminating and preserving these community-based research products, informed by the perspectives, experiences, and motivations of academics involved in this work. Interviews with faculty members and university administrators at Canadian post-secondary institutions suggest that there is a widespread lack of awareness about ways that institutional repository services can leverage the impact and reach of public-facing work generated through these collaborations. Furthermore, a survey of Canadian scholarly communications librarians indicates that libraries do limited outreach to faculty members and administrators engaged in community-based research to promote these services. This article suggests ways that academic libraries can extend outreach strategies to bridge this observed gap between repository services and the dissemination and preservation of community-based research products directly informed by input from research participants. Doing so can advance widespread institutional commitments to community engagement and open science practices to benefit the public good.