Integrating Self-publishing Platforms within Established Data Repositories

Self-publishing platforms offer established repositories new channels for disseminating data collections. These new channels offer advantages like quicker distribution and minimal curatorial effort, but also pose potential disadvantages, such as lower quality descriptive metadata and incomplete documentation. In this presentation, we discuss ICPSR's experiences with its own self-publishing platform, openICPSR, which was first implemented in 2014. We detail the benefits, challenges, and opportunities of operating a self-publishing platform within an established data repository firmly committed to curating its collections. We especially delve into a discussion and examples of the potential tension between self-published and curated collections related to repository staff, users, development, and policies, including those surrounding content selection criteria and content moderation, preservation decisions, and disclosure risks.