AgEcon Search: A case study on the differences between operating a subject repository and an institutional repository

Abstract

AgEcon Search is a subject repository containing the full text of working papers, conference papers and small press journals in agricultural and other areas of applied economics. In existence since 1995, it contains material from 170 organizations. Comparisons are made between the operations of a subject repository and those of an institutional repository, with each having easier and more challenging aspects. The field of economics has characteristics that contribute to the success of a subject repository, such as a pre-print culture and an interest in intellectual property and the economics of publishing.