The ADS is committed to providing open and free access to data. We therefore impose a one-off payment for deposition to safeguard the long-term future of the digital data.

Charges are based on:

• Object Fee – A standard fee is applied per digital object based on file type. For some file types (e.g. photographs), a set number of files can be deposited for free under the general Accession Fee (discussed below). If this is the case the word ‘Free’ is shown under Cost.
• Accession Fee – This fee relates to the ‘Start Up’ administration fee, which we apply to all depositions and includes a standard interface for your collection.
• Storage Fee – This fee relates to the cost we charge for storing data for long term preservation. This relates to large scale datasets that are deposited and in most cases will be included as part of the ‘Accession Fee’
• Interface Fees – charged at our set day rates for any requested special interface requirements.

The ADS Depositor Charging Policy explains the charging methods and rates in full so that those preparing project applications or tenders for work are able to understand and justify appropriate costs for digital archiving.

Obtaining a quotation

If you wish to obtain a quotation for the deposit of a collection via Ingest you can use our Ingest Costing Calculator. Our Legacy deposit system ADS-easy also includes a Costing Calculator.

For all Library quotations please contact our Collections Team to obtain a full costing.

Those requiring custom specialist interfaces are encouraged to contact us in advance of deposition so that appropriate costing information can be provided.

For collections exceeding 100,000 files, 1Tb of data, or for large multifaceted infrastructure projects, depositors should contact us in advance for costing advice and guidance. This is required because additional fees may be applicable to facilitate the project management and dissemination of more complex collections.