Data and information management of digital assets: Evaluating digital institutional repositories in gulf cooperation council (GCC) countries

This study aims to evaluate institutional repositories (IRs) in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. Although there have been some previous studies conducted on growth, development, and technological aspects of IRs, no research effort has been particularly made to investigate IRs in GCC countries. In this study, the researcher has employed the content analysis method to analyze the websites of institutional repositories in GCC countries. The content analysis involved visiting each IR and collecting both quantitative and qualitative data. The specific characteristics of IRs were obtained by manually observing and examining the IR websites. The study utilized both qualitative and quantitative data to gather information and examine the various websites of 22 institutional repositories. The analysis has been carried out during the period of January 2024 to January 2025. The findings have shown that while the repository of King Fahad for Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM) was the first established IR in 2008, the repository of King Abdullah University for Science and Technology (KAUST) was leading in the number of records among the examined IRs. Dspace was the main software used for managing and preserving digital contents of these IRs. The findings have also shown that only a few of IRs incorporated Web 2.0 features. The availability of services such as statistics, users' accounts, and saving search results varied, with some IRs providing more comprehensive services than others. In addition, the findings have indicated variation in the number of deposited documents, the systems used for repository management, and the availability of policies, support and training. The study has concluded that IRs in GCC countries require more development. The study has developed a framework that can be used by both researchers and practitioners to evaluate and further develop IRs.