Centralized vs institutional archives: are we going the wrong way with the fragmentation of repositories?

Abstract

This paper advocates the advantages of centralized repositories against the spread of institutional projects. The continuing emergence of new resources, open archives and digital libraries affects both academia and institutions that house ancient collections. The current "ribbon-cutting culture" should be subject to safeguards for the preservation and provision of good services. This paper lists some cooperative services in the academic world and a concrete example of digitization of an early collection of Spanish journals at the University of Connecticut.