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 * i. Preserving and providing access to research data, and working with publishers to ensure that there are effective links between publications and underlying or related data


 * ii. Providing a mechanism not just for access but for the long-term preservation of many different kinds of digital content, including research publications in those cases where—as is sometimes the case with smaller publishers—publishers’ own arrangements for preservation are at present unsatisfactory. It is important, however, that the implications of such a role should be considered carefully, and that repositories should ensure that they develop and implement robust preservation arrangements


 * iii. Providing access to grey literature (see Section 2) in the form of reports, working papers, technical specifications and other material that is often not readily-available from other sources. Repositories also provide a valuable mechanism for providing access to theses and dissertations. The role of repositories in disseminating such material beyond the academic world could be particularly useful, and steps should be taken to promote the use of repositories across constituencies where awareness of their existence is currently very low.

8.32. In all these ways, we believe that repositories could and should perform an important part of the landscape of research communications, complementary to that of publishers and their publications. But achieving that complementarity will require careful attention to all the matters outlined above. Policies relating to embargos and other restrictions on access to published material will require especial care; otherwise, the underlying publishing model will be put further at risk.

A mixed model

8.33. In sum, our conclusion is that, in order to maximise access for the greatest number of people to the greatest number of research publications, while sustaining high standards of usability, and the quality of the services provided to the UK research community, a number of measures are needed:


 * i. a clear policy direction should be set towards support for publication in open access or hybrid journals, funded by APCs, as the main vehicle for the publication of research, especially when it is publicly funded;


 * ii. the Research Councils and other public sector bodies funding research in the UK should establish more effective and flexible arrangements to meet the costs of publishing in open access and hybrid journals;


 * iii. support for open access publication should be accompanied by policies to minimise restrictions on the rights of use and re-use, especially for non-commercial purposes, and on the ability to use the latest tools and services to organise and manipulate text and other content;