Introducing AquaDocs – a joint open access publications repository

AquaDocs is a new joint open access repository of the UNESCO/IOC International Oceanographic Data and Information Exchange (IODE) and the International Association of Aquatic and Marine Science Libraries and Information Centers (IAMSLIC) with support from the FAO Aquatic Sciences and Fisheries Abstracts (ASFA).  AquaDocs will benefit research communities and society at large by:

• • • making aquatic and marine science information FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable)

• • • offering a repository platform to organizations and individuals without the infrastructure to support their own

• • • providing a capacity development opportunity for the IODE and IAMSLIC communities

AquaDocs has been created by merging content from OceanDocs (IODE) and Aquatic Commons (IAMSLIC), two existing repositories with similar foci and overlapping user communities. By combining efforts to fund and operate one repository, AquaDocs offers a more streamlined and sustainable solution.

The hosted Open Repository software, used by AquaDocs, offers several new features, including a multilingual interface, user export of metadata, sharing of items through social media, usage statistics and Altmetrics, author profile pages, batch uploading of metadata with PDFs, and a metadata quality module.

Many individuals were involved in the development of AquaDocs, notably the Joint Repository Working Group with membership from the Aquatic Commons Board, OceanDocs Steering Group, IODE Project Office, and FAO ASFA Secretariat. WorldFish is responsible for the beautifully designed logo and branding.

If you are interested in depositing publications into AquaDocs or have other questions about the new repository, please email us at: support@aquadocs.org