Repository Policies

Metadata Policy

for information describing items in the repository
1. Anyone may access the metadata free of charge.
2. The metadata may be re-used in any medium without prior permission for not-for-profit purposes
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. Anyone may access full items free of charge.
2. Copies of full items generally can be:
   • reproduced
   • for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-profit purposes without prior permission or charge.
   provided:
   • the authors, title and full bibliographic details are given
   • a hyperlink and/or URL are given for the original metadata page
3. Full items must not be harvested by robots except transiently for full-text indexing or citation analysis
4. Full items must not be sold commercially in any format or medium without formal permission of the copyright holders.
5. This repository is not the publisher; it is merely the online archive.
6. Mention of the repository is appreciated but not mandatory.

Content Policy

1. This is an institutional or departmental repository.
2. The repository holds all types of materials.
3. 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)
4. Items are individually tagged with:
   • their version type and date.
   • their peer-review status.
   • their publication status.
5. Principal Languages: English; Malayalam

Submission Policy

concerning depositors, quality & copyright
1. Items may only be deposited by accredited members, academic staff, registered students, and employees of the institution, or their delegated agents.
2. Authors may only submit their own work for archiving.
3. Eligible depositors must deposit bibliographic metadata for all their publications.
4. Eligible depositors must deposit full texts of all their publications, although they may delay making them publicly visible to comply with publishers' embargos.
5. The administrator only vets items for the eligibility of authors/depositors, relevance to the scope of the repository, valid layout & format, and the exclusion of spam
6. The validity and authenticity of the content of submissions is the sole responsibility of the depositor.
7. Items can be deposited at any time, but will not be made publicly visible until any publishers' or funders' embargo period has expired.
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.
   • Items will be migrated to new file formats where necessary.
   • Where possible, software emulations will be provided to access un-migrated formats.
   • It may not be possible to guarantee the readability of some unusual file formats.
3. The repository is working with external partners to:
   • convert or migrate file formats
   • develop and implement software emulations for old file formats
   • record preservation metadata
   • backup items in external archives
4. The repository regularly backs up its files according to current best practice.
5. The original bit stream is retained for all items, in addition to any upgraded formats.
6. Items are microfilmed for long-term preservation.
7. No withdrawal policy defined.
8. No deletion method for withdrawn items defined.
9. Errata and corrigenda lists may be included with the original record if required.
10. If necessary, an updated version may be deposited.
    • The earlier version may be withdrawn from public view.
    • The item's persistent URL will always link to the latest version.
    • There will be links between earlier and later versions, with the most recent version clearly identified.
11. Items are allocated a checksum to facilitate the detection of alterations.
12. No closure policy defined.