Victory!
I signed on an entire school to the repository today. I honestly thought about calling it a day and going home—what else could I possibly do to match that?
There are those who think that faculty will jump to deposit their work in the closest available repository just ’cuz. I won’t say what I think of these people, because the politest word I can manage to dredge up from my reasonably-extensive vocabulary is “deluded.” Faculty don’t do anything just ’cuz.
I have been tearing out my hair (well, not literally) for four solid months trying to raise awareness and snag some early adopters. Finally, finally, it pays off—and, curiously, not with a population I’d directly addressed. Which, if anything, makes me happier; it means word’s getting out.
The first one is the hardest. It should get easier from here.
(And no, I didn’t go home. I have an extensive collection of stuff from a teaching institute last summer that I had to get started clearing permissions for. O ye would-be repository-rats, beware: this is the most time-consuming bit of coping with existing multi-authored pieces of work!)