Communities and Collections

Communities, sub-communities and collections are structures used in UDSpace to help organize material in UDSpace so that people can find it more easily. The UDSpace team determines what structures are most effective, in consultation with department and program representatives.

In most cases, UDSpace communities will contain one or more collections of scholarly material.

• Communities: Most communities are associated with academic departments or large campus entities such as the Department of Geography, the Graduate College or the Library, Museums  and Press.
• Sub-communities: A sub-community might be established for a particular program within a departmental community. Sub-communities are not required, and in many cases, they are unnecessary.
• Collections: Collections are the basic containers for material that is deposited in UDSpace. Collections are always hosted within communities. For example, most UDSpace departmental communities include a collection focused on open-access scholarly publications. Over time, in conjunction with the UD Faculty Senate Open Access Resolution (FSOAR), all UDSpace departmental communities will have a collection for open-access scholarly publications. Other common types of collections might include a collection for a conference or symposium, including papers and presentations from the event.

If you represent a department or program that is not already included in UDSpace or you wish to begin depositing material on behalf of a department, please visit Become a Representative and contact the UDSpace team by emailing lib-udspace@udel.edu to discuss next steps.

How do I figure out which community or collection is the best one for a specific document or type of material?

Start by seeing whether the department or program that you’re most closely associated with has a community associated with it, and what sub-communities or collections exist. Is there a sub-community associated with the material that you want to deposit, such as a collection of open-access publications? If your department has a contact listed, reach out to that person or contact the UDSpace team. If you do not see a community for your department or program, contact the UDSpace team, which can help you figure out next steps.