DCU Library celebrates two research initiatives

(L to R)Prof. Kennedy, OVPR, Paul Sheehan, Director of Library Services, Rachel Hill, DORAS Manager, Prof. Gary Murphy, School of Law and Government

The Library held a special event on Tuesday 4th November to launch DORAS - DCU’s institutional repository, and to mark the re-opening of the newly refurbished Patrick J. Wright Research Commons, recently named in honour of the late Patrick Wright.

Professor Gary Murphy, Director of Graduate Studies, whose office, together with the Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR), funded the refurbishment of the commons, spoke of the importance of the facility in supporting the needs of the growing postgraduate research community. He highlighted the success of the ongoing collaboration between his office, the OVPR and the Library.

DORAS provides access to DCU’s research publications through a single interface which showcases its scholarship on a global scale. Professor Eugene Kennedy, Vice President for Research, spoke about the importance of DORAS in terms of increasing the visibility and impact of DCU’s research output. He noted that amongst the top ten downloads from DORAS in September 2008, were a number of PhD theses and remarked on the importance of the research commons as a dedicated space for PhD students to work on their theses and the opportunity the space afforded for cross-disciplinary networking and collaboration. He strongly encouraged all those in attendance to deposit their research papers in DORAS.