Purpose: To provide an overview of how open access (OA) repositories have grown to take a premier place in the e-research knowledge cycle and offer Southampton's route from project to sustainable institutional repository. Design/methodology/approach: The evolution of institutional repositories and OA is outlined raising questions of multiplicity of repository choice for the researcher. A case study of the University of Southampton research repository (e-Prints Soton) route to sustainability is explored with a description of a new project that will contribute to e-research by linking text and data. Findings: A model for IR sustainability. Originality/value: The TARDis project was one of the first IRs to achieve central university funding in the UK. Combined with increased visibility and citation, the research assessment exercise route has become the "hook" on which a number of IRs are basing their business models.