Repository Policies

Metadata Policy

for information describing items in the repository

1. Access to some or all of the metadata is controlled.
2. The metadata may be re-used in any medium without prior permission for not-for-profit purposes provided the OAI Identifier or a link to the original metadata record are given.
3. The metadata must not be re-used in any medium for commercial purposes without formal permission.

Data Policy

for full-text and other full data items

1. Access to some or all full items is controlled.
2. All full items are individually tagged with differing rights permissions and conditions.

Content Policy

for types of document & data set held

1. This is an institutional or departmental repository.
2. Subject Specialities:
   • Technology General
   • Mechanical Engineering and Materials
3. The repository is restricted to:
   • Journal articles
   • Conference and workshop papers
   • Theses and dissertations
   • Books, chapters and sections
   • Learning Objects
   • Multimedia and audio-visual materials
   • Patents
   • Other special item types
4. Deposited items may include:
   • working drafts
   • submitted versions (as sent to journals for peer-review)
   • accepted versions (author's final peer-reviewed drafts)
   • published versions (publisher-created files)
5. Items are individually tagged with:
   • their version type and date.
   • their peer-review status.
   • their publication status.

Submission Policy

concerning depositors, quality & copyright

1. Items may only be deposited by accredited members, academic staff, registered students, and employees of the institution
2. Authors may only submit their own work for archiving.
3. Eligible depositors must deposit full texts of all their publications, although they may delay making them publicly visible to comply with publishers' embargos.
4. The administrator only vets items for valid layout & format
5. The validity and authenticity of the content of submissions is the sole responsibility of the depositor.
6. Items can be deposited at any time, but will not be made publicly visible until any publishers' or funders' embargo period has expired.
7. Any copyright violations are entirely the responsibility of the authors/depositors.
8. If the repository receives proof of copyright violation, the relevant item will be removed immediately.

Preservation Policy

1. Items will be retained indefinitely.
2. The repository will try to ensure continued readability and accessibility.
   • It may not be possible to guarantee the readability of some unusual file formats.
3. The repository regularly backs up its files according to current best practice.
4. Items may be removed at the request of the author/copyright holder, but this is strongly discouraged.
5. Acceptable reasons for withdrawal include:
   • Journal publishers' rules
   • Proven copyright violation or plagiarism
   • Legal requirements and proven violations
6. Withdrawn items are deleted entirely from the database.
7. Withdrawn items' identifiers/URLs are not retained.
8. If necessary, an updated version may be deposited.
   • There will be links between earlier and later versions, with the most recent version clearly identified.
9. In the event of the repository being closed down, the database will be transferred to another appropriate archive.