A&M-Commerce Digital Commons:

Institutional Repository Policy

Objective

The purpose of the A&M-Commerce Digital Commons is to collect, preserve, and make publicly accessible the scholarly and creative works produced through Texas A&M University-Commerce (“A&M-Commerce”).

A&M-Commerce Digital Commons is an institutional repository provided by Velma K. Waters Library (“the Library”). Institutional repositories provide a space for contributors to share their scholarly and creative works in a publicly available environment for educational and academic use.

A&M-Commerce Digital Commons also contains digital content provided by Special Collections and University Archives (SCUA).

Copyright & Intellectual Property

Contributors to A&M-Commerce Digital Commons retain the copyright to their works deposited in the repository, but inclusion involves the granting of non-exclusive rights to preserve and make works publicly available via the Internet. The contributor of the works must hold either the copyright or the right to deposit for open-access, and be willing and able to provide permission to make the content publicly accessible.

In the case of works for which the publisher holds the copyright, it is the responsibility of the contributor to obtain permission from the publisher to deposit the work. In such cases, contributors must obtain express permission in the form of a release from the copyright holder, and submit this with their content upon deposit with A&M-Commerce.

It is understood that contributors submitting copyrighted or licensed content agree to:

  • Grant A&M-Commerce Digital Commons the right to ingest, openly disseminate, and preserve the content. Preserving the content may involve migrating the content to new formats to ensure future accessibility.
  • Provide proof that they hold copyright to the work or have express permission to deposit the work.

A&M-Commerce Digital Commons recommends that works submitted be made available, if possible, under a Non-Commercial, Non-Derivative Creative Commons 4.0 license or other type of Creative Commons license. For questions about Creative Commons licenses, contact Sarah Northam.

Collection Policy

Who Can Submit

A&M-Commerce Digital Commons includes creative and scholarly works created by members of the A&M-Commerce community, such as:

  • A&M-Commerce faculty, staff, and researchers
  • A&M-Commerce academic and support units
  • A&M-Commerce students
  • A&M-Commerce organizations and committees

Other entities affiliated with A&M-Commerce will be considered on an individual basis.

  • Co-Authors and Co-Presenters from other institutions
  • A&M-Commerce conference and workshop presenters from other institutions/organizations

Eligible Work

A&M-Commerce Digital Commons collects and makes publicly available scholarly and creative works produced by the A&M-Commerce Community. Collection efforts are focused on core content areas:

  • Faculty and student scholarship
  • Dissertations and Theses
  • Papers, presentations, programs, video, proceedings and other works produced by A&M-Commerce hosted conferences and events.
  • University organizational and committee meeting documentation
  • Digitized archival materials
  • Data Sets
  • Grey Literature
  • Open Access Journals
  • Open Educational Resources

Other materials will be considered for inclusion on an individual basis, including:

  • Books and book chapters
  • Materials from A&M-Commerce affiliates not employed or enrolled at the University

The Library considers both born-digital materials and materials digitized from analog originals to be within the scope of its collection policy, and appropriate for inclusion in the repository. See Special Collections and University Archives Digital Collections Policy for their eligible content.

The Library reserves the right to deny or remove materials not within the scope of the collection policy.

Access & Withdrawal

By accessing A&M-Commerce Digital Commons, users agree to respect intellectual property by appropriately citing any content used.

A&M-Commerce Digital Commons provides timely, public access to its deposited content. While works deposited are intended to be available on a long-term basis, there may be cases in which certain file formats or content types cease to be supported due to technology obsolescence or other factors beyond the control of A&M-Commerce Digital Commons.

In certain exceptional circumstances, A&M-Commerce Digital Commons may consider removing publicly accessible content upon request. These cases include potential privacy or rights violations. Contributors may also request that works be replaced with an updated or revised version. All requests for removal, update, or revision must be submitted in writing to digitalcommons@tamuc.edu.

To request removal of works, the following information must be supplied:

  • Your contact information, including email address and phone number
  • Exact URL of the material in question
  • Details that describe the material (title, collection name, authors, etc.)
  • The reason why you believe your rights have been violated. Include documentation if you have any – this includes author agreements and contracts

      • Upon receipt of a takedown request, the Library administrator will temporarily remove the material from public view while the claim is investigated. If the claim is verified, the materials will be permanently removed from the repository after informing all parties associated with the material about the pending action. The ultimate authority for removal of public access lies with the Dean of Libraries.

      Excluded Content

      The following content is not appropriate for A&M-Commerce Digital Commons:

      • Works intended for commercialization
      • Works that are confidential, culturally insensitive, or that contain offensive, defamatory, or unlawful content
      • Works which would infringe a legal obligation of the institution and/or the author(s) or the legal right of a third party

      Privacy

      A&M-Commerce Digital Commons respects users’ right to privacy. Contributors and users should be aware that the system collects personally identifiable information during the submission process as well as for user selected services such as subscription to alerts and reports. This information will be used solely for the purpose for which the user submitted it, with the exception that the Library may make reasonable statistical reports for internal institutional use.

      Preservation, Migration, and Retention

      Preservation:

      The Library is committed to preserving and providing access to the contents of the repository. However, some file formats may cease to be supported as a result of changes in technology and the private sector, beyond the control of the A&M-Commerce Digital Commons administrator.

      Migration:

      The Library may determine that our current repository platform no longer best meets our needs. Should this be the case, and where possible, all content will be migrated to a new platform, and every effort will be made to ensure that all content will continue to be accessible.

      Retention:

      A&M-Commerce Digital Commons aims to offer long-term access to scholarly records. If a contributor leaves A&M-Commerce, their work will remain in the repository. At their request, new contact information can be added to their files.

      Submission Policy

      How to Submit

      Email materials you would like considered for submission to A&M-Commerce Digital Commons. If you have any questions about submitting materials for Digital Commons contact Sarah Northam.

      Submission Guidelines

      The following are general guidelines for submission of content to A&M-Commerce Digital Commons:

      • Valid A&M-Commerce domain log-on credentials are necessary in order to deposit items. Information on obtaining credentials and setting up a user profile can be found on the A&M-Commerce site.
      • Works must be submitted in digital format.
      • A&M-Commerce Digital Commons does not blanket-restrict any particular digital format, but certain format types may be deemed out of scope. Since A&M-Commerce Digital Commons seeks to provide the widest possible access, content with highly restrictive software requirements in order to view or use will generally not be accepted for deposit. Contributors should make every effort to deposit their items in formats that are open, sustainable, and commonly-used in their fields. Common formats include, but are not limited to, .pdf, .jpg, .tif, .png, .mp4.
      • Work should be in a completed state ready for archiving; generally, work that is in-progress and/or regularly updated will not be accepted. See Collection Policy for examples of core content areas.
      • Contributors must be able to acknowledge that all requisite copyright, licensing, and/or intellectual property clearance has been obtained for the works. A&M-Commerce Digital Commons provides open access to its content; this involves contributors being willing and able to grant non-exclusive rights to preserve and make their work publicly available. See Copyright & Intellectual Property for more information.
      • In the case of works for which the contributor is unable to grant the right to public access, and thus unable to deposit the work itself, the contributor may request that A&M-Commerce Digital Commons offer a citation for the copyrighted work that links to the work.
      • Contributors may request removal or revision of previously submitted content. See Access & Withdrawal for more information.
      • In the event that the contributor is no longer affiliated with A&M-Commerce, all works deposited will be retained by A&M-Commerce Digital Commons.
      • Any questions regarding credentials, deposit, or suitability of content should be directed to Sarah Northam.

      Bibliography

      Houston Cole Library, Jacksonville State University. JSU Digital Commons | Guide for Faculty: Overview. Accessed May 2021.

      University of North Alabama Libraries. UNA Scholarly Repository Policies: Pilot Policy. Accessed May 2021.

      The University of Rhode Island Libraries. DigitalCommons@URI Policies and Guidelines. Accessed May 2021.

      Approved May 25, 2021