As an official form of self archiving, institutional repositories are based on the idea of open access. They form a shop window for the scientific output of the institution and ensure long term preservation of academic results. The library can be the ideal home for the repository, since we already possess many of the skills needed to set up and run a repository. After a short overview of the state-of-the art abroad, the present article introduces one of the first institutional repositories in Hungary. Through the experiences of the first year of the DEA (University of Debrecen Electronic Archive) project, we obtain an insight into the legal, social, cultural and technical questions and dilemmas as well as ideas for further developments and possible co-operations. The final aim is to establish the repository as a central part of the research infrastructure of the University of Debrecen.