DigitalCommons@USU Fiscal Year Report 2014-2015

A report on the growth and changes in the repository over the fiscal year 2014-2015

DigitalCommons@USU Fiscal Year Report 2015-2016

A report on the growth and changes in the repository over the fiscal year 2015-2016

Focusing on student research in the institutional repository

Student research is a significant and rapidly growing component of the institutional repository (IR) at Utah State University (USU). A briefing paper prepared for Open Access Scholarly Information Sourcebook (OASIS) points to student works as one of nine purposes for an IR.1 It is not uncommon to find undergraduate and graduate theses and dissertations in IRs. In 2013, an analysis of 283 U.S. repositories using the bepress or DSpsace platforms indicated 71% include this type of student research. However, other student research such as posters, presentations, or papers were only found in 38% of these repositories. Utah State University’s IR actively solicits student research resulting from research groups and individuals, as well as posters and creative works featured in the university’s Student Showcase symposium

We Have Only Scratched the Surface: The Role of Student Research in Institutional Repositories

Institutional repositories (IRs) and other research archives have at their core the mission to disseminate the scholarship of their communities. At universities, this content is often expected to come primarily from faculty and professional researchers. Certainly, faculty are significant producers of scholarship, but students also make worthy contributions to this body of knowledge. Graduate students, at least, are generally recognized as creators of information, and in recent years, IRs have been successfully collecting theses and dissertations written by masters and doctoral students. However, another important and often overlooked group is undergraduate students

Response of root explants to in vitro cultivation of marketable garlic cultivars

Garlic cultivars are sexually sterile under standard growth conditions, with direct implications for commercial production costs as well as breeding programs. Garlic is propagated commercially via bulblets, which facilitates disease transmission and virus load accumulation over vegetative generations. Tissue culture produces virus-free clones that are more productive, while keeping the desired traits of the cultivar. Consequently, this technique allows studies of garlic genetics as well as guarantees genetic conservation of varieties. We aimed at analyzing the in vitro regeneration of eight marketable cultivars of garlic using root segments as explants. For each genotype, bulblet-derived explants were isolated and introduced into MS medium supplemented with 2,4-D and 2-iP. Calli were transferred to MS medium supplemented with 8.8 mM BAP and 0.1 mM NAA (regeneration medium A), or with 4.6 mM kinetin alone (regeneration medium B). The calli were then evaluated for regeneration frequency after sixty days of in vitro cultivation. The noble cultivar 'Jonas' presented the highest rates of plant regeneration among the cultivars tested. The medium A, which contained auxin and cytokinin, induced the highest regeneration rates of all cultivars. The process described herein is simple, reproducible and can potentially be used as a tool in molecular breeding strategies for other marketable cultivars and genotypes of garlic

Opportunities Outweigh Obstacles

Student research is an untapped commodity. A survey of 238 Institutional Repositories in 2013 indicated that only 38% collect student research other than theses and dissertations. We think student research is a potential goldmine. Do other librarians agree? What about stake holders outside of the library? And, what are the obstacles preventing more robust collection of student research

Casting a Wider Net: Student Research in the IR

Student research is an untapped commodity. A survey of 238 Institutional Repositories in 2013 indicated that only 38% collect student research other than theses and dissertations. We think student research is a potential goldmine. Do other librarians agree? What about stake holders outside of the library? And, what are the obstacles preventing more robust collection of student research? Includes breakdown of repositories by platform