Purpose
The purpose of Digital Scholarship@UNLV, the institutional repository of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, is to:
- Showcase, preserve, and make accessible the research, scholarship, and creative activity of UNLV researchers, academic units, centers, and institutes Contribute to the impact of research, scholarship, and creative activity produced at UNLV
- Provide and support open access through the free, immediate, online availability of research and creative works coupled with the rights to use this research fully in the digital environment
- Provide stable, permanent URLs for authors and researchers to access and cite scholarship
Audience
UNLV authors are the primary audience for the services of Digital Scholarship@UNLV. The audience for content hosted in the repository is anyone in the world with an internet connection.
Administrative responsibilities
Staff in the Scholarly Communication & Data Services department are responsible for the administration of Digital Scholarship@UNLV.
Scope of the policy
This collection development policy provides guidance for content selection that meets and anticipates the needs of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. This policy, and the development of the repository, is informed by the strategic plans of the UNLV University Libraries and the University.
The collection development policy addresses:
- Who can contribute to the repository
- What content is included in the repository
- What content is out of scope for the repository
- Embargoes
- Removal of content and redactions
Contributors to the repository
UNLV Faculty, staff, other employees, and students may contribute to the repository, with the following guidance in mind. Authors, or anyone acting on their behalf must have the appropriate rights to the work and agree to the terms of the submission agreement.
Faculty, staff, and other employees of UNLV
Works must be produced by faculty or staff (all classifications) while employed at UNLV and the works must be research, scholarship, and creative activity produced in the capacity of their employment at UNLV or as emeriti.
With the support of their college or administrative unit, faculty, staff, and other employees of UNLV may use the repository as a platform for journal and conference content hosting. Each journal and conference must be approved for the repository by Scholarly Communication & Data Services staff before it can be set up in consultation with bepress Digital Commons (the vendor that provides the Digital Scholarship@UNLV platform).
Graduate students
The Graduate College graduation requirements stipulate that theses, dissertations, and doctoral projects must be included in the repository. Additional culminating experience works such as capstones and professional papers may be included with the agreement of the academic unit and the student author(s).
Works by graduate students presented or delivered as part of a UNLV event, may be included with the agreement of the academic unit or sponsoring UNLV organization, and the student author(s). The academic or sponsoring unit is required to follow current procedures for proposing a new collection or contributing to an existing collection in the repository.
Published Works not addressed above must be produced by graduate students while enrolled at UNLV and the works must be research, scholarship, and creative activity produced in the capacity of their education at UNLV.
Undergraduate students
Undergraduate students may submit their honors college theses with the agreement of the Honors College and the student author.
Works by undergraduate students presented or delivered as part of a UNLV event, may be included with the agreement of the academic or sponsoring UNLV unit, and the student author(s). The academic or sponsoring unit is required to follow current procedures for proposing a new collection or contributing to an existing collection in the repository.
Works by undergraduate students presented or delivered as part of a UNLV course, may be included with the agreement of the faculty instructor and the student author(s). The faculty member is required to follow current procedures for proposing a new collection or contributing to an existing collection in the repository.
Published works not addressed above must be produced by undergraduate students while enrolled at UNLV and the works must be research, scholarship, and creative activity produced in the capacity of their education at UNLV.
Authors not affiliated with UNLV
Works by authors who are not affiliated with UNLV through employment or enrollment are not included in the repository, unless:
- The work is co-authored with a UNLV author, meets the criteria for deposit for employees or students, and is submitted for inclusion by a UNLV author.
- The work is contributed to and accepted by a journal or conference hosted by the repository.
- The work is contributed to and accepted by a publication created by a UNLV center or institute, and that center or institute has established a collection in the repository.
Content included in the repository
The repository contains research, scholarship, and creative activity. These include, but are not limited to:
- Research articles
- Book chapters
- Books
- Posters
- Conference proceedings
- Presentation recordings
- Scholarly podcasts
- Published scholarly letters and correspondence
- Bibliographic entries for published works
Materials considered on a case by case basis include white papers, reports, and other previously unpublished works.
File types and format
- All content must be submitted in a digital format
- The bepress Digital Commons system accepts nearly all file types. However, contributors are strongly encouraged to submit content in formats that do not require proprietary software. Staff of the Scholarly Communication & Data Services department may reject submissions if the content is not in a preservable format.
- Text based documents should be submitted in PDF. Those that are not will be converted to PDF by the system.
- Journals and conferences hosted on the system may have their own file type and format requirements.
Accessible content
The repository serves anyone with an internet connection and submitted documents should adhere to accessible practices. We ask contributors to ensure their works are created with accessibility in mind. Staff of the Scholarly Communication & Data Services department reserve the right to reject submissions if we believe the content will not support UNLV’s Information and Communication Technology Accessibility Policy. The UNLV Office of Accessibility Resources has further information on creating accessible digital content.
Content that is out of scope
- Research, scholarship, and creative works that do not have a UNLV author (with the exception of materials submitted to events or journals hosted at UNLV, and managed by UNLV scholars)
- Research, scholarship, and creative works published prior to or after employment at UNLV
- Any material that violates copyright
- Any material that violates FERPA, which “covers information from ‘education records,’ which are any record, file, document, and/or other materials containing information directly related to a student that are maintained by the institution or a party acting on behalf of the institution”
- University Archives and Special Collections materials (with exceptions made on a case by case basis in consultation with Special Collections and Archives)
- Datasets (with exceptions made on a case by case basis in consultation with the Scholarly Communication & Data Services Department)
- Materials not provided in digital format
Embargoes
Embargoes are rarely applied to content held in the repository. Exceptions include:
- Previously published works where the copyright holder (typically publisher) requires an embargo
- Theses, dissertations, or doctoral projects, in agreement with the policies and processes established by the UNLV Graduate College
- Other materials on a case by case basis in consultation with the Scholarly Communication & Data Services Department
Removal of content and redactions
Digital Scholarship@UNLV is a long-term, open access repository. Once items are hosted in the repository, it is with the intention that the content will remain available indefinitely. Exceptions include:
- Material that violates copyright laws and the copyright owner has contacted us with evidence of the violation and requested removal
- Rare circumstances handled on a case by case basis regarding both redactions and removal of content
When content is removed, a record will remain in place to inform visitors of the item and the reason for its removal.
Last updated March 2023
