About the Repository

The School of Advanced Study brings together the specialised scholarship and resources of nine prestigious postgraduate research institutes to offer academic opportunities across and between a wide range of subject fields in the humanities. Through its institutes and in these fields, the School has a primary national research facilitation mission.

SAS-Space was first launched in 2006, using D-Space. In 2010, SAS-Space was re-designed and transferred to EPrints, which it still uses today. In 2017, SAS-Space received another facelift to bring it up to date, particularly to take into account the range of devices that people now use to access the Internet, to provide a better search and browse facility, and to make it fit for purpose in the developing Open Access landscape.

Yes. Complaint about the content of any item on SAS-Space should first be made by email to SAS-Space.Info@sas.ac.uk or using the ‘contact us’ form. If the complaint is deemed to have been made in good faith, then the full-text file of the item will be removed from public view as a precautionary measure, not more than three weeks after the complaint has been received. The metadata record will not be altered at this stage. This removal should not be construed as having any bearing on the validity of the complaint.

An investigation will be made as to whether the complaint is valid, and a decision taken as to whether the item should be permanently hidden from public view or re-exposed. This decision will be made with recourse in all cases to the SAS-Space Working Group of the School of Advanced Study. If the item is permanently removed, the metadata record will remain visible but will be amended to reflect the fact of the removal.

Yes. SAS-Space is intended to be a permanent archive. As such, we undertake to preserve items indefinitely, subject to the provisions here set out.

Functional preservation

How does SAS-Space ensure continued readability and usability of the items in the repository? What technical steps are you taking?

The School is committed to maintaining the functionality of the browsing and search interfaces and will amend and upgrade the platform software as and when necessary.

As for the individual items: we anticipate that those items that are in common formats, such as PDF or Microsoft Word, will remain widely readable as the applications that created them evolve over time. However, we do not undertake to migrate content from one file format to another. Deposited items will ordinarily remain in the format in which they were deposited. We reserve the right to migrate content between formats should circumstances require it.

File preservation

How is SAS-Space backed up, in what form, and how often?

A tape back-up of the contents of the whole server is made every 24 hours. These backups are stored both on- and off-site. The University of London accepts no liability for any loss or damage (including, without limitation, damages for loss of business or loss of profits) caused to users or depositors by the loss of data, whatever the cause.

Withdrawal policy

May items be withdrawn?

Items may only be withdrawn under exceptional circumstances, such as in cases of content being in potential breach of the law, likely to endanger life or property or to expose the University of London to the risk of litigation. Items will not normally be withdrawn solely on grounds of their having been superseded or their scholarly value having been otherwise diminished.

How are items withdrawn? Are they deleted entirely, or just removed from public view? Do the original URLs remain valid, and if so, do they point to 'tombstone' citations or to replacement items?

When an item is withdrawn, the downloadable file(s) is/are withdrawn from public view, but retained within the archive. The metadata record remains publicly available, with the same URL, but is updated to reflect the fact of the withdrawal. It will not state the reasons for the withdrawal. Any queries as to these reasons should be referred to the SAS-Space Manager.

Version control

May items be changed after they have been committed to the repository? Does SAS-Space allow multiple versions? Can addenda and corrigenda be accommodated?

Corrections may be made in matters of fact in metadata records within SAS-Space, by contacting the SAS-Space Manager.

In general, amendments may not be made to deposited files once they have been committed to the archive. In exceptional circumstances, updated versions may be added alongside that initially deposited. This may also be allowed in the case of an item being withdrawn (see Withdrawal policy).

If a new version of an item becomes available that is so substantially revised as to constitute a new edition, the presumption would be in a favour of deposit as a new item.

In all these cases, please contact the SAS-Space Manager.

Closure Policy

Should SAS-Space be closed down, what would happen to the material deposited in it?

SAS-Space is a service provided by the School of Advanced Study, which is part of the University of London. As such, we do not envisage circumstances in which the repository would be closed. If the University of London were itself to be reconstituted or its status as an entity otherwise amended, then responsibility for deposited material would be assumed by any successor entity.

Yes, for the following purposes only:

Google Analytics

SAS-Space uses Google Analytics and IRStats to collect information on how visitors use our site. This information is used to create reporting and analysis to allow us to improve the site. The cookies used by Google Analytics collect information in an anonymous form, including the number of visitors to the site, where visitors have come to the site from and the pages they visited. By continuing your navigation of this site, you are consenting to the University collecting and using your information for the purposes stated above.


You can find information about this on the cookies & terms of use page.