Collection Management and General Guidelines
for Scholar Works at Harding

The goal of this site is to pull together our institution’s intellectual and creative output under a single umbrella for the purposes of preserving, providing access to, and promoting the use of that content.

Brackett Library is responsible for identifying and preserving scholarly resources, increasingly in digital format, for as long as they are needed to support the University’s research, teaching and learning needs.  Content recruitment and resource allocation for support and administration of collections are determined by the following Scholar Works collection priorities:

Primary Priorities

Secondary Priorities

In this document

Collection parameters
Author Policies
Terms of Use
Take-Down Policy
Access Restrictions

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Collection parameters

Scope of Content

Scholar Works primarily collects scholarly and creative work created by Harding University faculty, staff, and students.  'Scholarly' work may include formal presentations, grey literature (research posters, conference papers, academic papers, white papers, technical reports, program evaluations, etc.), data or datasets, or any other work, irrespective of format, which is of potential value to scholars and practitioners in any discipline. 'Creative' work may include artistic and literary creations, computer code (software, applications, etc.), or any other work, irrespective of format, which is a creative expression of an individual's disciplinary skill or knowledge.

Faculty or University employees may recommend material to the Library for inclusion.  Significant new projects need to be coordinated with Brackett Library and approved by the Director of Brackett Library, especially those that will require additional staff time, storage space, new formats, or digitization resources. 

Open Access
Scholar Works is an open access digital repository.  By default, all content will be visible to public users.  Except in certain circumstances, both the metadata record for an individual item and the full-text (i.e. complete digital content) will be accessible to all users.  See Terms of Use.

Content in Scholar Works is deemed 'open access' because it is openly available and free for personal use (as permitted by U.S. copyright law).  Distributing content under a Creative Commons license is not required.

File Formats
Scholar Works is open to receive works in any digital format.  Any type of file can be made available for download, including, but not limited to:  documents, audio files, video files, image files, data sets, presentation slides, and computer code.  The following restrictions should be noted:

• Full-text indexing of submitted works for the native Scholar Works search function is available only for those works in Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx) or Adobe PDF (.pdf) format (the latter only if it is text-readable or able to have optical character recognition performed).
• There is currently no formal limitation on the size of files accepted into/distributed through Scholar Works.  Files that would prove difficult for users to download efficiently may be compressed and made available as a .zip file.
• There is currently limited support for streaming media.  If a contributor wishes a media file to be streamed in Scholar Works, the file must be hosted by the contributor (e.g. on YouTube or Vimeo) and the link provided as part of the Scholar Works deposit.

Archives and Special Collections

The Ann Cowan Dixon University Archives program is separate yet related to the scholar program.  The archives exists to identify, preserve, and make accessible historically significant records in a variety of formats that reflect the unique culture of the university and support administration, teaching, research, and service.  Its scope includes records created or received by the university, its faculty, staff, alumni, students, and administration.  The Archives collects records related to the history and culture of Harding University (certain records may exist in both Scholar Works and the Archives, but their preservation and access specifications may be distinct).

Please contact the University Archivist for more information, to make a donation, or to view the complete policies of the Ann Cowan Dixon Archives and Special Collections.

 

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Author Policies 

All contributors to Scholar Works are required to complete a formal submission agreement that describes the disposition of intellectual property within the submitted work, and which acknowledges the contributors’ responsibilities with regard to the content of the submission.  Depending on the configuration of the specific content collection, the submission agreement will be completed via the Scholar Works platform. 

Copyright

Contributors to Scholar Works must hold the copyright (either solely or jointly), or have the permission of the copyright holder(s) (with the exceptions noted below), for the content that they submit to Scholar Works. Copyright for content submitted to Scholar Works is retained by the author/creator/copyright holder(s); no copyrights are transferred to Harding University or Brackett Library. However, contributors must provide Harding University and the Brackett Library with a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to use, display, distribute, transmit, copy, reproduce, archive or otherwise make accessible the content through Scholar Works.

Inclusion of Third-Party Copyrighted Materials / Fair Use

For previously published full-text materials (e.g. journal articles), the copyright status of each item will be reviewed prior to public posting in Scholar Works, and every effort will be made to ensure that ingesting and providing access through Scholar Works is in compliance with copyright holders’ stated policies.

For unpublished materials (e.g. student coursework, theses/dissertations, faculty or student conference presentations, etc.) assurances will be received from the creator(s) during the submission process that, if necessary, permission has been obtained from owners of third-party copyrighted materials included in the unpublished work. In the instance of a mediated submission wherein a formal submission agreement is not received, it is assumed that the creator of the work is not knowingly submitting infringing material.

Brackett Library does not review for compliance with copyright law the content of all such scholarly or creative unpublished materials that are submitted to Scholar Works. Furthermore, Brackett Library fully supports the right of our community members to make fair use of copyrighted materials (as outlined in Title 17, Section 107 of the U.S. Code) in the creation of their own works. The Brackett Library staff will not make a fair use determination of submitted work; such a determination is considered to be the responsibility of the creator(s). However, in instances when it is readily and reasonably apparent that copyright law would be violated by posting a work, Brackett Library may request that the creator(s) obtain permission from any relevant copyright holder(s).

Collaborative Works

Brackett Library encourages submission of collaborative works to Scholar Works. When works with multiple authors, creators, or owners are submitted for inclusion in Scholar Works, the submitting author or owner is responsible for ensuring that the submission does not violate any existing contractual agreements governing the work and that the submission conforms to all applicable policies and laws.

Under United States copyright law, individual authors in a joint work share equal rights in that work (absent a contract to the contrary) and, as such, have the right to independently grant a non-exclusive license like that required by Scholar Works. Given this, Brackett Library does not require that all co-authors provide permission to post a work in Scholar Works. However, it is recommended that the submitting author consult with his or her co-authors prior to submitting a work to Scholar Works.

• Exception: All student authors must grant permission for a shared work to be submitted to Scholar Works. Permission either may be granted explicitly or may be attested to by the submitting author.

Human Subject Research

Unpublished products (e.g. manuscripts, posters, datasets, etc.) of human subjects research will only be accepted for inclusion in Scholar Works under the following conditions: (a) the associated research study was approved by the Harding University Institutional Review Board (IRB)*; (b) the distribution of research results through the repository is consistent with the nature of dissemination described to research subjects in the study’s informed consent document; (c) the distribution of research results through the repository has been approved by study sponsors/funders; and (d) appropriate measures consistent with the study’s protocol have been taken to ensure that distribution of results through the repository does not place subjects’ privacy at additional risk. Brackett Library reserves the right to confirm approval of associated studies with the Institutional Review Board prior to making submitted research products accessible.

* For research products that are the result of collaborative research and for which ethical oversight has been ceded to another institution’s IRB, the approval of that IRB shall be sufficient. Products of international research collaborations for which ethical oversight has been provided in another country will be accepted for deposit upon assurance of ethical review by an IRB or relevant analogous body.

Datasets and Databases

All data products derived from (a) human subject research, (b) private educational records, (c) private health records, or (d) any other data source that is considered private by law must comply with the following guidelines prior to deposit in Scholar Works:

1. Appropriate consent and/or authorization for the collection/use of the data that does not include language that would prohibit the data from being distributed through the repository must have been obtained by the depositor; and
2. As appropriate given the terms of said consent and/or authorization, all direct identifiers must have been removed prior to deposit. For data covered by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule, all 18 identifiers must be removed (unless appropriate authorization has been granted for other forms of disclosure).

Brackett Library reserves the right to request documentation of appropriate consent and/or authorization for use of the data prior to making submitted data products accessible. Data derived from human subject research studies is also subject to the conditions of deposit for such studies described elsewhere in this policy.

 

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Terms of Use

The following terms govern third party use of content contributed to Scholar Works:

Users are encouraged to cite and link to digital content in Scholar Works at Harding and are free to do so without asking for permission.  Depending on the source of the work, licenses or other contractual terms may restrict further distribution or other uses.  Scholar Works at Harding does not have authority to grant or deny permissions, as copyright remains with the authors.  When any permissible use is made of the materials, we request that Scholar Works at Harding be attributed as the source of the digital contents and that links to the item on Scholar Works at Harding be included where appropriate. 

 

General Terms of Use

For previously published works (journal articles, book chapters, etc.) for which the publisher retains copyright, permission has been granted (where necessary) to post this material on Scholar Works. For any use that exceeds personal use or fair use, permission may be required by the copyright owner of the material.

For theses, dissertations, or other previously unpublished scholarly or creative works, the right to download or print any portion of this material is granted by the copyright owner only for personal or educational use. The author/creator retains all proprietary rights, including copyright ownership. Any editing, other reproduction or other use of this material by any means requires the express written permission of the copyright owner.

Except as provided above, or for any other use that is allowed by fair use (Title 17, §107 U.S.C.), you may not reproduce, republish, post, transmit or distribute any material from this web site in any physical or digital form without the permission of the copyright owner of the material.

Inquiries regarding further use of these materials should be addressed to Brackett Library at scholarworks@harding.edu.

Terms of Use for Creative Commons-Licensed Works

For works posted in Scholar Works that display a Creative Commons license in their record and/or on the work itself, the use of that work is governed by the terms of the license selected by the content creator.

For more information about Creative Commons licenses, or to license your own work, please visit http://creativecommons.org/.

 

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Take-Down Policy

To assure compliance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, Brackett Library has instituted the following policy to address claims of copyright infringement in works contributed to Scholar Works:

Persons who have questions, or who believe that their copyrights have been infringed upon by the posting of material to Scholar Works, may contact the administrators at: scholarworks@harding.edu

Requests to remove materials from Scholar Works should include:

1. A physical or electronic signature of the owner, or authorized agent of the owner.
2. Clear identification of the copyrighted work(s) claimed to have been infringed.
3. Clear identification of the material in Scholar Works that is claimed to be infringing, including the URL(s).
4. Information reasonably sufficient to permit Brackett Library to contact the complaining party, such as an address, telephone number, and, if available, an electronic mail address at which the complaining party may be contacted.
5. A statement that the complaining party has a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law.
6. A statement that the information in the notification is accurate, and if applicable, that the complaining party is authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.

Brackett Library will respond to all questions or requests within five business days. If, within that timeframe, the library is not able to determine that the use of the work in question is lawful, access to the work through Scholar Works will be removed.

Privacy

No works that infringe on an individual’s privacy rights under law may be submitted for inclusion in Scholar Works.  Upon notification that content in Scholar Works (a) infringes on an individual’s privacy rights under law, or (b) is in violation of FERPA, HIPAA, or other relevant privacy laws, Brackett Library staff will, in consultation with the contributor, immediately withdraw or amend said content in a manner consistent with the procedures outlined in this policy.

 

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Access Restrictions

By default, all content in Scholar Works will be visible and fully accessible to public users—this includes both the metadata record and the full-text (i.e. complete digital content) for individual items. However, in certain circumstances, it may be necessary or appropriate to place access restrictions on individual items or content collections. For example, a publisher may require an embargo of six to twelve months before making a journal article publicly accessible.

Access restrictions in Scholar Works may be requested during the submission process by an individual contributor or by the academic unit, office, or external entity from which a content collection was produced. Access restrictions requested by student contributors must be approved by their school, program, or department, as appropriate. Brackett Library may also impose access restrictions on content in response to concerns about unlawful or unethical content.  Access may be restricted either at the individual item level or at the collection level.

There are currently three levels of access restrictions available for content in Scholar Works:

• On-campus access: The full-text of content may be downloaded only from a computer within the IP range of the Harding University campus. This can include off-campus access via a proxy server. 
• Closed access: The full-text of content is embargoed (i.e. accessible to no one) for a specific period of time (either 6, 12, or 24 months), but the metadata record is publicly visible.
• Dark access: Content is submitted to Scholar Works, but is not publicly posted (i.e. public metadata record is created). This option is available only in cases where legal or personal safety issues are present. Dark access may be temporary or maintained indefinitely.

On-campus access and closed access are available both for individual items and for entire content collections; dark access is available only for individual items. It is important to note that the on-campus access option must be configured at the collection level, which means that no content in that collection will be visible in the Digital Commons Network (though it will still be indexed by search engines)—even individual items within the collection that have been set to open access.

Changing Access Levels

If an individual contributor or academic unit, office, or external entity for which a content collection was produced wishes to change the access level for an item or collection, such a request must be made in writing to Brackett Library staff and sent to scholarworks@harding.edu.

Renewing Access Restrictions

If an access restriction on an item or collection has been set for a specific period of time, the access level will automatically revert to open access at the expiration of the restricted period, unless the Brackett Library is notified in writing at least 48 hours in advance by the individual or group who contributed the content in question. The contributing individual or group is responsible for renewing a temporary restriction; no reminders will be sent by the library prior to the time period lapsing.

 

Acknowledgements:  Some portions of content in these guidelines were adapted from Pacific University Oregon, University of Rhode Island, and Purdue University. Brackett Library has obtained permission for use of ideas and statements.