Policies

Contributor and Deposited Content Policies

Eligible Contributors

The following contributors are eligible to deposit work to DePaul Open Repository:

  • DePaul University faculty, staff, and approved affiliates
  • DePaul University graduate and undergraduate students depositing:
    • Dissertations, theses, or graduate-level capstone projects
    • Select works that have been accepted through a review process such as peer-reviewed journal articles or conference presentations
  • Colleges, schools, departments, centers, or academic divisions

Deposit Guidelines

Each deposit constitutes a Work, which requires one or more files and descriptive information. These files must be:

  • Digital
  • Complete and fixed in their final form
  • Copyrighted by the depositor
  • Scholarly, research-oriented, educational, creative, or generally reflect the intellectual environment of the campus.
  • Supplemented with necessary descriptive information (metadata) to facilitate the discovery, use, and reuse of the content

The types of materials that may be submitted by eligible contributors include:

  • Publications (including pre-prints, author’s accepted manuscripts, unpublished works)
  • Theses and dissertations
  • Working Papers, technical reports, grey literature
  • Conference papers, presentations, posters, proceedings
  • Creative works such as poetry, scores, and scripts.
  • DePaul hosted electronic journals
  • Audio or video recordings of presentations, lectures, or performances
  • Supplemental images and figures
  • Datasets
  • Books, book chapters, open educational resources
  • Digitized content related to the history, legacy, and ongoing work of the Vincentians provided by approved affiliates

This list is not exhaustive and other materials will be considered if they align with previously stated content criteria.

The library can provide guidance on selecting an appropriate repository or hosting platform for work that is not the best fit for DePaul Open Repository.

File formats

The library will support as many file formats as possible. Contributors are responsible for working with the library to determine what format is appropriate based on type of content and/or particular collection. All formats can be deposited, but users should consider submitting their files in formats that are open, sustainable, and well-used in their fields.

Access to Deposited Content

All deposited content will be made available to the public, except when forbidden by contracts, rights, or when embargoed for a limited time.

If a contributor leaves DePaul University, their content will remain in DePaul Open Repository.

Withdrawal Policy

Items in DePaul Open Repository are intended to remain permanently available. The library may find it necessary to remove content from DePaul Open Repository under these circumstances:

  • Plagiarism or falsified research
  • Copyright violations or other legal issues
  • Privacy, confidentiality or ethical concerns
  • Duplicates or administrative error

When an item is withdrawn, the file is no longer publicly accessible. The metadata remains available with a withdrawal statement explaining the reason.

Items may not be withdrawn because the depositor or author is moving to another institution. This policy does not apply to electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs), which are governed by College and School policies.

A request for removal should be directed to DePaul Open Repository administrators and include the reasons for withdrawal. Library staff may contact the requestor for additional information.

As part of periodic maintenance, works will be reviewed and certain collections may be deaccessioned or transferred to Special Collections and Archives. The DePaul University Library has final authority over decisions to retain, remove, or restrict access to repository items.

Preservation of DePaul Open Repository Content

The DePaul University Library is committed to supporting sustainable access to selected digital collection content for the foreseeable future. Our plans for doing this are subject to change with fiscal reviews and as new and emerging technologies affect the ability to preserve digital content.

Should our funding or organizational imperatives change, the library will strive to provide advanced notice, and assist with the transition to another host institution and/or returning the work to the author(s).

Disclaimer

DePaul University Library may refuse deposit of materials as guided by this policy. Content outside of the immediate scope of the DePaul Open Repository but with significant value to DePaul University may be considered. Please contact Scholarly Communications Librarian, Kelly Hallisy, with questions.