Content Collection

This page describes the characteristics of content that are appropriate for submission to UDSpace. For recommended and supported file formats, please visit the File Formats and Sizes page.

The University of Delaware Library, Museums and Press reserves the right to refuse for deposit or to remove content that is libelous, an invasion of privacy, an infringement of copyright, or that does not reflect the nature of the Collection to which the work was submitted.

Type

Content deposited in UDSpace reflects the intellectual output of University of Delaware faculty, researchers, staff and graduate students. It is educational or research-oriented in nature. Examples of appropriate content include:

• Pre- and post-publication papers
• Technical reports
• Theses and dissertations
• Books
• Slides from lectures and presentations
• Pedagogical resources or teaching materials created by UD faculty and/or staff, including open educational resources (OER)
• Datasets (may be subject to size restrictions)

Content of archival value produced or sponsored by administrative offices, academic units and student groups may also be appropriate for deposit in UDSpace. Examples of such content include:

• Administrative reports and formal departmental documents, such as graduate program policy statements
• Compilations of University data
• Meeting agendas and minutes from university committees

In general, though, UDSpace is intended to host and disseminate research material, not as a general storage space for UD faculty and researchers.

Format

UDSpace can accept many electronic file formats. Certain formats, however, such as plain text, XML and PDF/A, are recommended because the likelihood of their full preservation in the future is much higher (see Recommended File Formats for UDSpace).

While audio and video files may be uploaded to UDSpace, in most cases, we do not recommend using UDSpace for audio and video. Audio and video files cannot be played from within the browser. They must be downloaded and played in another software program on the user’s computer. Large videos may be difficult to download depending on the strength of the downloader’s internet connection. If you want users to be able to play videos within an internet browser, consider whether UD CaptureSpace or an external service such as YouTube or Vimeo may meet your needs.

Size

UDSpace will not allow files over 2 GB in size to be deposited. When preparing material for deposit, larger files (above 1 GB) may be difficult for users to download and display. Bigger is not always better, depending on your needs, and the needs of the users you hope will access your content. Contact UDSpace administrators if you have questions about sizes and size limits for material you plan to deposit.

If you request a new community or collection in UDSpace, you may be asked about your anticipated total size for the community or collection, and asked to keep your community or collection under a certain maximum size.

Confidential information

Submitting work to UDSpace requires you to attest that the work contains no confidential or proprietary information. Confidential information includes data that can uniquely identify someone, such as a Social Security number, credit card number or driver’s license number. Proprietary information is information, such as patentable information, that is owned, or may be owned, by someone else.

Ownership/Intellectual property

The author/owner of content deposited in UDSpace must be willing and able to grant the University of Delaware the right to preserve and distribute the work via the institutional repository (see Deposit Policy and UDSpace Distribution License).

Student work in UDSpace

This section discusses restrictions around student work being deposited in UDSpace, but this section does not apply to UD student theses and dissertations, which are deposited by the Graduate College as a standard part of the degree completion process.

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) of 1974 protects the privacy rights of students. It requires that “educational records” be released only with a student’s signed consent. Student work is considered part of this educational record, and student work is the intellectual property of the student. This applies equally to graduate and undergraduate student work.

Content placed in UDSpace is meant to be available in perpetuity, unlike content published to the web on less permanent sites. For researchers, content deposited in UDSpace becomes part of their professional academic record and appears alongside other peer-reviewed work in Google Scholar. Student coursework created within a degree program, while excellent, may not have undergone the same degree of peer review and revision as published research articles, and students may not want their coursework to become part of their permanent, professional portfolio. For this reason, in most circumstances, student coursework is discouraged from being deposited in UDSpace. If you wish to have students deposit work created in a class, please contact the UDSpace administrators to discuss your plans further. UDSpace administrators may recommend alternate and less permanent methods of sharing student work publicly online. For any student coursework that is shared, a signed release form will be required.