From: Kathleen Shearer <[log in to unmask]> Date: Mon, 8 Feb 2021 12:28:51 -0500 (Sorry for any cross-posting) COAR is pleased to announce the launch of a new project, *Notify: The Repositories and Services Interoperability Project* <https://www.coar-repositories.org/notify-repository-and-services-interoperability-project/> This project builds on previous work of COAR to advance the vision first outlined in the COAR Next Generation Repositories Initiative <https://www.coar-repositories.org/news-updates/what-we-do/next-generation-repositories/>* – to position repositories as the foundation for a distributed, globally networked infrastructure for scholarly communication, on top of which layers of value added services will be deployed* – and further articulated in the Pubfair White Paper <https://www.coar-repositories.org/files/Pubfair-version-2-November-27-2019-2.pdf>, which describes a distributed framework for open publishing services. In 2020, COAR published a generic technical model <https://comments.coar-repositories.org/> to enable the linking of preprints and other repository resources with external services, with an initial focus on peer review services. The technical model – which was developed based on a number of use cases provided by preprint servers, repositories, peer review services and overlay journals – applies a distributed, message-oriented approach based on W3C Linked Data Notifications (LDN). In a practical sense, this model will enable a researcher to deposit an article (or other types of research output) into any compliant repository, choose from a list of peer review services and overlay journals, and request a review. The repository will send an automated message to the peer review service, and further bilateral interactions between the author(s), and the overlay review service(s) will be automated. The *Notify Project* will assist implementing partners with adopting a common and interoperable model to support reviews and endorsements on distributed resources in repositories, preprints and archives. More information is available on the project webpage <https://www.coar-repositories.org/notify-repository-and-services-interoperability-project/> . Kathleen Shearer Executive Director Confederation of Open Access Repositories (COAR) www.coar-repositories.org