The institutional repository website should provide all the resources that may be required by depositors and users. Suggested material that can be included on the repository website are:

An introduction to the repository service

This section can explain why the repository has been established and what it will bring to the institution in terms of visibility and as a management information tool, and to researchers in terms of increased visibility and impact for their work. If there is a formal institutional Open Access policy this should be available for depositors and users to consult.

Explanation of Open Access and self-archiving

The material on the Open Access introductory page, the pages for researchers and the Briefing Papers on Open Access and  Institutional Repositories may be useful here. Adding a list of FAQs to this section is a good idea: there are a number of issues that researchers always ask about and presenting the case in question-and-answer form is an effective way of communicating on these. A good example of a FAQ list covering all repository matters is the one for the University of Northampton repository, NECTAR.

Deposit procedures

The material here will be mainly institution-specific and should cover who is permitted to deposit, what the submission procedure is if repositpry staff mediate the deposit process, what kinds of digital items are accepted by the repository, whether non peer-reviewed content is accepted by the repository, whether there are any rights procedures to go through and so forth.

User guidelines

This section might cover how to use the search or browse facilities and explains the structure of the repositpry content if it is categorised in particular ways.  Visitors to the repository may also wish to know what they are pernitted to do with the content they find there. If there are any restrictions on re-use these should be stated clearly.

Copyright information

The institution may have specific issues that it wishes to highlight about copyright but there are general things to say as well. Authors need to be reassured about permissions to self-archive and providing a link to the SHERPA RoMEO service so that they can check publisher/journal policies is helpful. This section may also be the place to provide clear information about author rights and how to retain the rights needed to ensure that self-archiving and re-use of work is unhindered by publisher copyright. A link to one (or a choice) of the available author addenda is also useful here, along with an explanation of how they can be used by authors seeking to retain the rights they need to provide Open Access for their work.

Link to the IR service search page

If the search box is not placed on the front page of the repository site (it is common for repositories to have it on the front page) a prominent link to the search facility should be provided.

Service administrator contact details

Provide at a minimum an email contact for the person responsible for running the repository. It is an encouraging touch to add a little information about the repository manager and a message from him/her about why the repository is important to the institution and its researchers.