What can libraries do to facilitate self-archiving?
Digital librarians are the natural candidates for maintaining the Eprint Archives, their institution’s outgoing collection of peer-reviewed research output. (1) Offer trained digital librarian help in showing faculty how to self-archive their papers in the university Eprint Archive (it is very easy). (2) Offer trained digital librarian help in doing “proxy” self-archiving, on behalf of any authors who feel that they are personally unable (too busy or technically incapable) to self-archive for themselves. Authors need only supply their digital full-texts in word-processor form: the digital archiving assistants can do the rest (usually only a few dozen key/mouse-strokes per paper). (The proxy self-archiving will only be needed to set the first wave of self-archiving reliably in motion. The rewards of self-archiving — in terms of visibility, accessibility and impact — will maintain the momentum once the archive has reached critical mass. And even students can do for faculty the few keys
