Frequently Asked Questions

What belongs in Widener Law Commonwealth Digital Commons?

The academic community is encouraged to include a broad range of material in this repository. This includes journal articles, conference materials, books, educational materials, open textbooks, working papers, images, videos, audio, and more! Contact the repository administrator, Susan Giusti smgiusti@widener.edu for more information on how to include your works.

{ back to top }

Why would I want my work posted in Widener Law Commonwealth Digital Commons? Are there benefits?

Depositing work into the Widener Law Commonwealth Digital Commons increases access to it in several ways that will enhance professional visibility and impact. Making work openly accessible online in the repository may lead to wider readership, as it does not require user fees or subscription access. Items in this repository are also search engine optimized, meaning that they appear high in the search results of sites like Google. Authors can receive a report with download statistics, allowing them to see exactly how many readers are accessing their work. Additionally, each item in the repository is assigned a stable URL which can be used to reliably link to the work on resumes and other websites, including personal sites or scholarly networking and sharing sites. By linking to full-text works available on Widener Law Commonwealth Digital Commons, readers not only have access to the entire work, but authors also see the activity represented in the monthly download reports.

Law faculty are encouraged to include their publications in the repository. Widener Law Commonwealth Digital Commons is part of the Digital Commons Network, which is a global interdisciplinary scholarship platform that contains almost five million items. Within the Digital Commons, Widener Law Commonwealth’s institutional repository is also a part of Law Commons, which contains over half a million items. Accordingly, adding scholarship to Widener Law Commonwealth institutional repository places it in two massive databases that are international in scope, thus amplifying its visibility and discoverability.

{ back to top }

What is the Expert Gallery Suite from PURE and how does it relate to the Widener Law Commonwealth Digital Commons institutional repository?

Expert Gallery Suite is a service of the Widener Law Commonwealth Law Library, as is the Widener Law Commonwealth Digital Commons, the law school’s digital repository. With Expert Gallery Suite, faculty authors have profiles that will integrate directly with the repository. Authors are able to highlight the entire body of their work in the Expert Gallery Suite alongside those included in our institutional repository.

The benefits available through Widener Law Commonwealth Digital Commons are also offered through Expert Gallery Suite, including search engine optimization and stable URLs for reliably linking to works.

{ back to top }

I don't have electronic versions of old working papers that I'd like to include in the repository. Is it okay to scan the printed page to a PDF file?

Yes--scanning printed pages is a great way to create PDF files for inclusion in the repository. There are two ways to scan a page: using OCR (Optical Character Recognition) or scanning the page as an image. Making OCR scans requires careful proofreading and loses the original formatting of the documents. Image scans cannot be searched. The best solution takes advantage of both of these methods. Many software applications allow for the OCR capture of image scans. When documents are scanned this way, users see the image scan but search the full-text of the document. This is the preferred method for scanning documents for the repository.

{ back to top }

How do I include accents and special characters in the abstracts and titles?

The repository software supports the worldwide character set (Unicode, utf-8). Accents, symbols, and other special characters may be copied and pasted into the abstract or title field from a word processing file or typed in directly. Windows users may also use the Character Map to insert these characters. Macintosh users may use the Character Palette (available via Edit > Special Characters in the Finder).

{ back to top }

How do I revise a submission?

To revise a submission that has been posted to the repository, contact the repository administrator, Susan Giusti smgiusti@widener.edu, with the new version.

{ back to top }

How can I submit a multi-part file, such as multiple chapters for a book?

Combine all the sections together as one Microsoft Word file or PDF file and submit that.

To make one PDF file from multiple files, open the first PDF file, then choose Document>Insert Pages from Acrobat's menus to insert the second file (indicate it should go after the last page of the first file), and repeat for all documents. The result will be one compound PDF file which may then be submitted.

If you feel that the one large PDF file might be too large for some people to download, we suggest that you submit the consolidated file as the full text of the article, and then upload the separate chapters or sections of the document as Associated Files. These files will appear on the web page alongside the complete document. For more information about uploading associated files, see "Can I post related files..." below.

{ back to top }

Can I post related files (sound clips, data sets, etc.) alongside the published article?

Yes. The bepress system refers to these supplementary items as Associated Files. You will be prompted to submit Associated Files when you upload your submissions. The name of the files you upload will appear on the web site along with your short description of it. Viewers must have the necessary software to open your files; that is not provided by the bepress system.

Please be sure that there are no permissions issues related to use of the associated material. Sometimes, especially with images, you must write a letter seeking permission to use the material before it can be posted.

Also note that where possible, items such as images, charts and tables that are referenced in the document (or otherwise an integral part of the document) should be included directly in the article itself and not posted just as associated files.

{ back to top }

Can I post a reprint from a journal?

It depends on what the journal allows, which is usually specified in their agreement with the author. If it would not violate copyright to post the reprint on your repository site, you're welcome to do so. Permissions for some publishers can be found at SHERPA RoMEO.

{ back to top }

A working paper in our repository site has been published in a slightly revised form in a journal. What should I do?

Many journals do not have any restrictions on working papers that preceded an article, especially if substantial revisions were made. You should check your author agreement with the journal to confirm that there is no problem with leaving the working paper on the site. The repository would constitute noncommercial use.

Assuming the working paper does remain on posted in the repository, it is a good idea to include the citation to the published article on the cover page of the repository working paper. Please contact the repository administrator, Susan Giusti smgiusti@widener.edu, to request this change.

{ back to top }