Gaia Antarctic Digital Repository: Management and Dissemination of Antarctic Knowledge

Abstract

The experience of creating the Gaia Antarctic Digital Repository a specialized subject repository, is described. It was born during the Convenio de Desempeño MINEDUC-MAG 1203 “Gaia Antártica: Conocimiento y Cultura Antártica” and the collaborative partnership of the Universidad de Magallanes (Umag) with higher education and research institutions that contribute to the knowledge of the Antarctic Continent. The purpose of the repository is to develop a single digital platform to collect, preserve and disseminate scientific, academic and disclosure information about the Antarctic and Antarctic polar areas. It emphasizes partnerships with national universities and institutions of research. The paper also describes the process of selecting documents; specifying the terms for scanning; the technical aspects of the selection and implementation of the management platform of digital objects; selection of open access software and the use of standard bibliographic description; and the implementation of hardware and networking technologies. Finally, it describes uses, policies and copyrights, settlement and dissemination.