FAQ

Submitting Works to OpenEmory

Your OpenEmory Profile

Author Rights

About Open Access


Submitting Works to OpenEmory

Who can submit works to OpenEmory?

If you are an Emory faculty member, you can submit your works to OpenEmory. If your department uses Emory FIRST, you can use that system to deposit. The schools currently using Emory FIRST are:

  • Goizueta Business School
  • Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing
  • School of Medicine

You may also request that library staff submit materials on your behalf. For more information, see Option 2 on our How to Submit page.

What kinds of works can I submit to OpenEmory?

We currently accept faculty-authored:

  • scholarly articles
  • books
  • book chapters
  • conference papers
  • presentations
  • posters
  • reports
  • working papers

See our Deposit Advice page for additional information about determining what you are allowed to submit.

How do I determine which version of my work the publisher will allow me to place in an open access repository?

Publishers' policies vary about which versions of a work may be placed in open access repositories. You can determine what your publisher will allow by consulting the author agreement you signed when your article was accepted for publication.

To determine which version of an article you are allowed to post in OpenEmory, you can also search the SHERPA/RoMEO database, which contains summaries of journal publishers' policies.

For other types of works, such as book chapters or presentations, see our Deposit Advice page.

Can I submit works written with co-authors?

Yes. You can deposit works with any number of authors, even if your co-authors are not Emory faculty members. Each joint author holds copyright in the work, and each has the authority to grant Emory the non-exclusive license necessary to post that work in OpenEmory.  

However, we recommend that you get your co-authors' approval before depositing a work.

Can I submit works I wrote before OpenEmory was created?

You are welcome to deposit works written prior to the creation of OpenEmory, provided that, in your author agreement, you retained the right to post your work on a freely accessible website.

Can I include data, audiovisual files, or other supplemental material with my work?

OpenEmory welcomes the inclusion of links to supplemental material, both publicly accessible and restricted. The OpenEmory staff would be happy to assist you with including these links to your article in OpenEmory. Please feel free to contact us at openemory@listserv.cc.emory.edu. For additional information and help with managing your research data, please see Research Data Management

Can I delay access to my work in OpenEmory?

Yes.  If you choose to submit a work to OpenEmory, you may also specify an embargo period. Your work will be archived in OpenEmory but not publicly accessible for the duration of the embargo period.

Can I remove material if I change my mind?

Since OpenEmory is intended as a permanent record of the university faculty's scholarly output, removing content is strongly discouraged. We realize, however, that in some circumstances you might need to remove material. Please contact us at openemory@listserv.cc.emory.edu to discuss your particular situation.

What if my work uses copyrighted material (e.g. images) that I only have permission to publish in print, not in an online repository?

You cannot submit copyrighted material to OpenEmory that you only have permission to publish in print. You can either choose not to submit your work to OpenEmory, or you can submit the work without the copyrighted material. 

What rights and permissions do I need to submit my work to OpenEmory?

In order to submit your work to OpenEmory, you need the right to post your work on an institutional web site or an institutional repository that is publicly accessible online.

If your work was published, the publisher may restrict which version of your work you may post: original manuscript (aka pre-print), author's final manuscript (aka post-print), or a final published version. The publisher may also require an embargo or delay period before the work can be publicly accessible. OpenEmory accommodates both of these situations.

What if my publisher doesn't allow me to submit, or I just can't tell?

If you can't locate a publisher's policy on your author agreement, or you're not certain how to interpret the language in your author agreement, please contact us at scholcomm@listserv.cc.emory.edu. We'll be happy to help.

What if I routinely deposit my works in another open access repository?

There are two options. First, depositing in another repository, such as PubMed Central, arXiv, or SSRN, does not stop you from depositing in OpenEmory. In fact, we are working with existing repositories to capture open access works authored by Emory faculty, and are doing so with PubMed Central.

The second option is to include the citation information for the work in OpenEmory and include a link to the work in the other open access repository. With this option, realize that your work will not be permanently preserved at Emory.

Your OpenEmory Profile

How do I correct my Faculty listing in OpenEmory?

Your Emory Faculty Title, School, Division, and email address come from your Emory Shared Data Directory listing. OpenEmory staff do not have the access to make any changes. However, you may follow these links to make or request changes to your directory listing. 

How do I update the publication list in my OpenEmory profile?

The publications list in your OpenEmory profile only includes works that have been deposited in the OpenEmory repository. If you would like other works to be added to the list, please see our How to Submit page. 

Author Rights

Visit our Author Rights page for information about your rights as an author.

About Open Access

Why should I deposit my work in OpenEmory?

There are lots of benefits to depositing in OpenEmory. 

  • Works stored in OpenEmory are discoverable by Google and other search engines.
  • Your colleagues and others can read your works from all over the world – even if their libraries cannot afford to subscribe or buy it.
  • OpenEmory provides a permanent link to each work you post, which you can send to colleagues and others – more efficient than emailing a copy of the work to each person who asks for it.
  • OpenEmory is hosted and backed up by Emory University Libraries & Information Technology, providing long-term access and preservation.
  • If/when you leave Emory or retire, your scholarly work will be preserved in OpenEmory, even when your departmental website is taken down.
How will OpenEmory affect peer review?

It won't. OpenEmory does not affect your ability to submit your works for publication. Peer review will be determined by the practices in your field and by the policies of the publisher. OpenEmory will simply store whatever version your publisher allows, after your work is accepted for publication.

How is depositing research in OpenEmory different from posting it to my personal/departmental web site?

Content you post in OpenEmory will be managed by Emory University Libraries, and you will have a personal profile page listing all of your works. You will receive a permanent link to any works stored in OpenEmory. You will be able to share links either to your profile, or to any individual work, with colleagues, co-authors, or others who may be interested in your work.

Additionally, if you leave Emory or retire, your personal/departmental web page will likely be taken down. If you store your works in OpenEmory, we will preserve them and make them permanently accessible.

How will OpenEmory increase the visibility of my work?

Work deposited in OpenEmory becomes visible to people around the world via search engines such as Google and other indexing services.  Posting final published versions of articles can increase your citation rates and impact. Making earlier versions of your work available allows you to establish priority, and increases the visibility of your work to colleagues and others around the world.

My publisher offers an open access option, for a fee, to articles it publishes.  How does this relate to OpenEmory?

If your publisher does not object to deposit in an institutional open access repository, there is no need for you to pay a separate fee to the publisher for the same level of access.  If you wish to do so, of course, you are free to pay the publisher the open access fee, and some grant funders allow grant moneys to be used for this purpose.

What if I routinely deposit my work in another open access repository, like PubMed or arXiv?

There are two options. First, depositing in another repository, such as PubMed Central, arXiv, or SSRN, does not stop you from depositing in OpenEmory. In fact, we are working with existing repositories to capture open access works authored by Emory faculty, and are doing so with PubMed Central.

The second option is to include the citation information for the work in OpenEmory and provide a link to the work in the other open access repository. With this option, realize that your works will not be permanently preserved at Emory.

How will people know what version of my work is posted in OpenEmory?

The record for each work will indicate whether it is a pre-print, post-print, or a final published version. Based on feedback from faculty, Emory accepts the latest version possible under the author agreement.

Whenever possible, the record will include a link to and citation information for the published version, to make clear that the published version is the preferred version, and that the Emory copy is a secondary copy for archival purposes and for readers who do not have access to the published version.