Abstract:

The Aquatic Commons repository was established by the International Association of Aquatic and Marine Science Libraries and Information Centers (IAMSLIC) in 2006. It is intended to facilitate the exchange of scientific research related to the marine/aquatic environments by providing a searchable, Web accessible repository for digital documents. Initially, it will seek to build content based on born digital and legacy documents in PDF format that have been produced under the auspices of IAMSLIC member organizations or partnered agencies. It is specifically mandated to offer repository services where local, stable IT support is lacking. Future development will explore the serving of additional formats and alphabets. The Aquatic Commons is intended to complement institutional repositories and to collaborate with related subject repositories particularly in developing countries, such as the OceanDocs program of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission.