Abstract

The purpose of this study is to explore the establishment and administrative strategies for shared repositories for academic libraries in Korea, using the US ReCAP (Research Collections and Preservation Consortium) Project as a case study. The US ReCAP Project was a collaboration between the New York Public Library and the university libraries of Columbia University, Harvard University, and Princeton University. In-depth interviews were conducted with librarians and administrators in charge of the ReCAP Project to understand the original vision of the project, as well as how the strategy and approach evolved over the years. The analysis results revealed that shared repositories for libraries have evolved into shared collections enabling shared use. But shared repositories require a central management system to be successful in the long-term. Additionally, findings showed that the shared repository filled more quickly than anticipated. This in turn required collaborative planning on shared collection development and selection policies to determine which materials to send to the shared repository.