Abstract:

Now, more than ever, the way information is stored, retrieved and displayed is changing. The availability of printed materials can be retrieved in digitized format to support knowledge sharing among researchers and students. Indeed, many universities especially Research Universities in Malaysia are heading towards implementing digital content in their organizations. Digital repositories are also one of the initiatives taken by academic libraries in Research Universities to transform towards digital library. Preserving records, mainly the research articles is a vital approach as a visibility of researchers and to be in par with the initiatives from other higher ranking universities in the world . This paper describes the initial project done by University of Malaya Library in preserving local research articles throughout the world in a way to promote open access which act as digital archive. University of Malaya Institutional repository is an open access digital archive containing the details of published and unpublished research work produced by the University of Malaya staff and researchers. In supporting this project, University of Malaya Library chose E-Prints as a tool to embark this initiative in par of being a established Research University in Malaysia. It preserves the published papers, research journal articles, unpublished pre-prints together with working papers, technical reports, book chapters and conference proceedings and etc. This paper also describes the process of digital initiative being done to contribute to the creation of digital records in open access platform. As University of Malaya research repository has self-archiving capabilities, everyone is encouraged to deposit their own papers or articles. E-print would be a dependable platform in preserving all the electronic records which has been under the right of University of Malaya. The concept of selectivity in preserving electronic records is very important. Access to electronic records is dependent on the constantly changing and evolving computer technology. Unlike paper records that can survive for hundreds of years unless measures are taken to destroy them, electronic records do not persist unless deliberate steps are taken to preserve them. The importance of preserving the electronic records will be clarified by implementing the trusted digital repository. In conclusion, digital repositories such as E-Prints sustain the creation of visibility among researchers and students around the world. There is no limited access to the data and enables researchers to communicate and set up the networking among them for profession development.

Keywords:

Digital repositories, Digital preservation, E-Prints, Institutional repositories, University of Malaya, Research University, Electronic records.