Strathprints: 20 Years of Open Access at Strathclyde
Alan Slevin, Scholarly Publications and Research Data Manager, 10 Oct 2025
Strathprints’ journey started in the early 2000s, when the University of Strathclyde saw the need for a central home for its research. Back then, open access was still in its infancy but Strathclyde was ready to take the leap.
The Early Days (2003–2008) By 2005, Strathprints was live running on EPrints, one of the earliest open repository platforms. At launch, it already held over 500 research outputs, from journal articles to PhD theses. By 2008, that number had grown to nearly 4,800 records, a sign that Strathclyde’s researchers were embracing open access. Early advocacy aimed to encourage more engagement with researchers and communicate progress to the repository community.
2005 archive snapshot
2005 homepage — simple metadata-driven layout
Integration and Momentum (2009–2013) As open access mandates gathered momentum, Strathprints became more than just a repository - it became part of Strathclyde’s research strategy.
Using Strathclyde’s signing of the Scottish Declaration on Open Access, the first institutional deposit mandate was pushed through Senate, mentioned in this Strathprints presentation in 2009
In 2013, the University adopted Pure (Elsevier) as its Current Research Information System (CRIS). Instead of replacing Strathprints, the two were connected through a smart pipeline: Pure for research management, Strathprints for global visibility.
This decision preserved Strathprints’ strengths: embargo control, preservation workflows, and discoverability, while ensuring efficiency for researchers. Today, the connected Pure CRIS has passed 100,000 deposited outputs, making it a vast research management hub, with Strathprints as the primary outward-facing showcase. This system drives the workflows and compliance behind the scenes.
2013 archive snapshot
2013 interface showing Pure integration cues
Discovery, Growth and Grey Literature (2014–2019) Between 2014 and 2019, tools were added that made research easier to find and use:
CORE Recommender suggested related works.
SEO and schema.org enhancements boosted visibility in Google and beyond.
A new statistics dashboard let researchers see the reach of their work.
By 2019, downloads hit over half a million in a single year, showing how global audiences were engaging with Strathclyde’s work. Just as importantly, Strathprints became a champion for grey literature - theses, reports, working papers, and conference proceedings often overlooked elsewhere - ensuring the full breadth of research was visible.
2019 archive snapshot (abstract screenshot with CORE recommender and stats pages visible)
Preservation & Data Futures (2020–2022) With growth came responsibility for the preservation of research outputs. Strathprints integrated Archivematica to safeguard research for the long term, while deepening links with research data management (RDM) systems like StrathData and DataCite.
In 2021, downloads reached a record-breaking 845,656, proving that the appetite for open research had never been stronger.
Strathprints in the Rankings (2023–2025) Strathprints’ success is reflected Strathclyde’s global standing:
In the 2023 Leiden Ranking, Strathclyde was ranked 3rd in the world for the proportion of research outputs open access (91.7%).
In 2024, it rose to 4th globally, with 92.6% of outputs open.
Behind these rankings is a clear truth: Strathprints has been central to Strathclyde’s reputation as a leader in open access.
2024 archive snapshot (dashboard screenshot showing statistics & DOIs)
From Humble Beginnings to Cornerstone of Open Research
Today, Strathprints holds over 75,000 items, with more than 10 million downloads worldwide.
What started as a modest EPrints installation has become a cornerstone of Strathclyde’s open research ecosystem balancing technical innovation, policy compliance, and global accessibility.
Strathprints’ story is one of persistence, innovation, and community. It shows what happens when a university commits to openness not just in words, but in infrastructure, policy, and vision. And after 20 years, the story is still being written.
Strathprints People
The success of Strathprints rests on the combined dedication, expertise, and vision of multiple teams working behind the scenes over the years. At the heart of this effort are the Institutional Repository Support Assistants, whose tackling of a large workload and meticulous attention to detail have made the smooth processing of thousands of deposits possible. These staff manage the intake, verification, and metadata preparation of research outputs, ensuring that each deposit meets both open access standards and institutional requirements. Their careful work is the backbone that allows Strathprints to deliver content promptly and reliably to the global research community.
Complementing this effort are the skilled repository managers, who have exploited the open-source nature of the EPrints software to create a highly customized service. Through the thoughtful integration of important tools such as discovery, linking, and content recommendation systems they have enhanced both the functionality of the repository and the visibility of Strathclyde research. Their technical ingenuity ensures that Strathprints remains a flexible, future-proof platform capable of responding to emerging research and open access requirements.
Equally critical are the teams’ approach to policy and advocacy in a way that has been instrumental in advancing open access across the university. By rationalising OA policies, introducing innovative open research initiatives, and developing clear, efficient workflows, they have maximized compliance with funder mandates and institutional expectations. Their efforts extend beyond policy design and they engage directly with academics and senior management, promoting the value of open access and ensuring that Strathprints is recognised as a central component of Strathclyde’s research infrastructure.
Together, the teams who have supported Strathprints over the last 20 years have created an institutional repository which is much more than a simple archival service but more of a dynamic, community-centred hub for open research. The combined technical skill, operational diligence, and strategic advocacy have ensured that Strathprints is not only a repository of record but also a driver of research visibility, innovation, and institutional engagement with open science.
References
These references illustrate Strathprints' active participation in the global open access and scholarly communication communities, showcasing its contributions to research dissemination and repository development. This continues to the present with the current staff having important roles in the wider Open Research community and infrastructure.
Repository case history: University of Strathclyde Strathprints. Open Repositories Conference, Southampton 2008 https://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/5790/
Strathprints case study https://wiki.diglib.org/images/a/a6/Strathprints_Case_Study.pdf
(Greening Information Management (GIM) methods)
Why are repositories important? https://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/41210/
Repository Impact and Usage
Strathprints Usage Review (2018): A blog post reviewing the usage statistics of Strathprints in 2018, providing insights into its reach and impact. strathoa.tumblr.com
Strathprints Usage in 2018: Another blog post analysing the usage patterns of Strathprints during 2018, highlighting trends and areas of growth. strathoa.tumblr.com
DigLib Wiki Case Study: A detailed case study on Strathprints, highlighting its development, challenges, and successes in promoting open access at the University of Strathclyde. DLF Wiki
CORE Blog Post: An article on the CORE blog discussing the implementation of the CORE Recommender in Strathprints, enhancing content discoverability and user engagement. CORE
Open Access and Repository Discoverability
Open Access @ Strathclyde Blog: A blog post discussing the efforts to enhance open access at Strathclyde, including the growth of Strathprints and its integration with various open access initiatives. strathoa.tumblr.com
Reviewing Repository Discoverability: A Tumblr post reviewing the strategies implemented to improve the discoverability of Strathprints, including metadata enhancements and integration with external platforms. strathoa.tumblr.com
Conference Presentations and Discussions
16th International Open Repositories Conference (OR2021): A presentation titled "The wee country that roared: supporting Open Access in Scotland through institutional repositories," highlighting Strathprints' role in Scotland's open access landscape. Strathprints
Leiden Rankings Presentation: A presentation focusing on the growth of institutional repositories in Scottish universities, including Strathprints, and their impact on open access. Strathprints
Assessment of Self-Archiving: A study evaluating the success of open access self-archiving in several well-known institutional repositories, including Strathprints, examining deposits and full-text availability. scholarship.libraries.rutgers.edu
Proceedings of the Tenth Text Retrieval Conference: An author-produced version of a paper published in the proceedings, hosted on Strathprints, demonstrating its role in disseminating scholarly work. CORE