Introducing T-stór – Teagasc’s New Open Access Repository

Press Release | Teagasc | January 7, 2013

January 7, 2013--Teagasc has launched its newly developed Open Access repository, which makes Teagasc research papers freely available online.

In the context of scientific research dissemination, ‘Open Access’ refers to the free availability on the public Internet of scholarly articles published in an electronic format, permitting any user to read and re-use the content, provided only that the author is properly acknowledged and cited.

Teagasc is currently in the process of populating the repository, with almost 300 papers already available online. As papers are published, they will be placed in the repository, so that eventually it will provide a picture of Teagasc research from 2012 forwards. It is also hoped to add historical content over time.

“For many years, the main method of dissemination of scientific results has been through publication of articles in scientific journals. It was only possible to read the published journal articles if you paid a subscription to the journal,” explains Maire Caffrey, Teagasc’s Head Librarian.

“Supporters of Open Access believe that if research articles were freely accessible, the usage, impact, productivity and progress of research would be maximised. There has also been a rise in support for the idea that results of publicly-funded research should be freely available, in order to maximise its impact and value for money,” says Maire.

Teagasc Director of Research, Dr Frank O’Mara, says: “T-Stor’s launch comes at an opportune time, with the recent launch of the National Principles for Open Access Policy Statement by the Minister for Research and Innovation, Sean Sherlock, TD. Teagasc is a signatory of this statement and is a member of the National Steering Committee on Open Access Policy that developed the statement. We now have a repository that allows us to participate in Open Access research publication and dissemination, and which will enable Teagasc researchers to comply with Open Access mandates from the EU, SFI and other funding bodies. We will also explore the use of the repository for other types of articles and publications produced by Teagasc staff.”

Stór is the Gaelic word for Repository, Store or Warehouse, and T-Stór is an online “store” of Teagasc research outputs and related documents. The repository is freely available to the general public at: http://t-stor.teagasc.ie

For more on T-stór see TResearch magazine, winter 2012, pages 8-9: http://www.teagasc.ie/publications/view_publication.aspx?publicationID=1636