Cover Sheets
Many visitors to repositories come via search engines to full-text files or learning packages, thus bypassing repository home pages and metadata records. A cover sheet is therefore often the only way to inform visitors of the repository's existence as the source of the information they have found. It is an opportunity to demonstrate the value of repositories to researchers and teachers, and a chance to market the institution. Cover sheets can contain branding such as logos or images: although it may become labour intensive to replace cover sheets if the repository and/or the institution are rebranded. The cover sheet can also be used as a way to link to the repository home page, and/or the metadata record for the item in the repository. The link to the metadata record may be all that needs to be considered, as the other information that could be included on the cover sheet might be contained in the metadata record. Cover sheets typically contain information about:
Meeting copyright holders' policies
If cover sheets are to be used, then displaying a copyright statement is highly recommended. Some publishers allow post-prints to be made available online whilst insisting upon standard phrases being displayed along with the text: the cover sheet is one way to meet those requirements. Even when publishers do not require such statements, a standard statement referring to copyright demonstrates respect for rights holders, just as others who are reading the content should show. A simple statement outlining the copyright terms under which the item is available in the repository can be included on a cover sheet. Consider that this policy might change over time so a standard statement referring to a policy on the institution's website may be preferable. Different items in the repository may have different use/re-use or repurposing options, with some being more restrictive than others (ie some learning materials may be fully 'open' whilst others may be for use within the institution only) and the cover sheet is one place that this can be recorded.
Information about which version is presented
In relation to research outputs there is often little information in the metadata record as to which version of the article is held in the repository, even whilst the final, published version is referred to. The cover sheet is an opportunity to redress this, but even if the metadata record does make it clear which version the full-text represents, the metadata record may not have been the reader's entry point to the text. It is often difficult to describe the version held in the repository in either a cover sheet or the metadata, owing to the confusion over terminology and authors' imprecise records. However, referring to the published version elsewhere can make it clear that yours is not the published 'version of record'. It may also be worth pointing out that access to the published version may require a subscription, which explains the reason for making an alternative version available.
In relation to learning materials it may be important to provide version material in your cover sheet and metadata because in some subject disciplines this information may date very quickly and, as in the case of medical subjects may even be dangerous if out of date. A versions policy and preservation policy (LINK TO PAGE) is crucial to deal with this and there may be a policy to remove out of date material and replace it with new content.
Pedagogic context for learning materials
Some institutions prefer to utilise 'pedagogical wrappers' to accompany learning materials within repositories as they feel that the context (intended use) should be incorporated to guide other users. This 'wrapper' itself may constitute the main item/record within the repository or be held elsewhere with links to the items within a repository. The Open University Cloudworks service is currently being investigated as a potential 'pedagogical wrapper'. This kind of link could be incorporated into a cover sheet.
Helping others to trace the published version of research outputs
It is the published version of the research output, the "version of record" that anyone wishing to cite the article is likely to want to cite (see page 9 of the VERSIONS toolkit), and the cover sheet can be used to give the reader the information needed to trace and cite the published article. It would be a shame for an author to lose a potential citation because the repository version of the article itself did not contain enough information to make it easy for the reader to cite. If possible, it would be ideal to put a full reference for the repository version and for the published version onto cover sheets, making it extremely easy for their works to be cited.
How to attach/display cover sheets
Further information on creating cover sheets on the fly at point of user download
iText is built into your own applications so that you can automate the PDF creation and manipulation process.
EPrints extension CoverPDF - automatically adds cover pages to PDF documents. Cover pages are generated when eprints are uploaded and contain a mixture of set phrases and text derived from the eprint metadata. Whether a page should be generated and the detail of what should appear on it are configurable for different types of eprint. These cover pages are then stored alongside the documents, and merged with them at delivery. Bepress Digital Commons software also does this.
A cover sheet might be page 1 of the file itself, added by authors before/whilst depositing, or by repository staff after deposit. Alternatively, the cover sheet might be generated 'on the fly' at the point the document is requested by the reader, rather than being a part of the file itself. An automatically-generated cover sheet would not interfere with any automated metadata creation tools, nor with authors' wishes to have the front page of their work displayed in rollover images just as they intended it to look, and it would mean no extra work for depositors or repository administrators in attaching such cover sheets. Plus, any later branding or policy changes can be altered in the source information for such cover sheets. Another way to potentially automate cover sheet creation would be to offer an 'add-a-cover-sheet' option to authors as they deposit and upload the file. In this way, repository staff are not involved in lengthy processes, authors are prompted to include appropriate information in the files themselves, and authors get to choose whether they want a standard cover sheet or not.
Conclusion
There are many purposes that cover sheets can serve in a repository, but it is not necessarily certain that they should be used. Having given consideration to all the issues around cover sheets, you will need to balance your ideal scenario against technical capacity and workflows, to decide on what it is actually going to be possible. Cover sheets are something that could be re-addressed in the future as the repository matures and technological solutions are developed.
