LibraOpen deposit checklist

Before creating a new LibraOpen work

If at any point in the submission process, you have any questions, please contact the Libra team at libra@virginia.edu.

UVA faculty: Learn more about the Faculty Senate’s Open Access Guidelines

1. Review the Library's Copyright Essentials for Scholarly Work

Review the Library's Copyright Essentials for Scholarly Work

2. Check which version you can deposit and when

• If your article has been previously published, or will be published in a non-Open journal, check the journal’s policy on which version of your work you can deposit into LibraOpen and whether the publisher requires an embargo. The web site Open policy finder (formerly SHERPA/RoMEO) allows you to search via journal name to see journals’ self-deposit (self-archiving) policies.
• If your work has been accepted for publication, but you have not yet signed an agreement, you may be able to negotiate for the right to deposit a version of your work in LibraOpen.
• If your publisher requires an embargo, set the embargo time frame in LibraOpen (see Step 8: Set the visibility of your work).

3. Know your open license options

• Creative Commons licenses are a key tool of the Open Access movement, which works to expand free online access to scholarship. The Authors Alliance also has a helpful FAQ about open access for authors.
• LibraOpen lets you choose an open license when you post your work, and will prominently display the license you choose as part of the record for your work.  This license helps readers find your work, and makes it more likely that it will be read and re-used. You should also include the license information among the front pages of the version you deposit.
• Creative Commons licenses allow copyright holders to grant blanket permission to the public to make free use of their works, so long as the use meets certain conditions (such as attribution, or refraining from commercial exploitation). Learn about CC license options at the Creative Commons website.
• Some publishers only allow the use of certain Creative Commons licenses. Check your author agreement, publisher policies, or Open policy finder (formerly SHERPA/RoMEO) for license requirements.
• Creative Commons licenses are irrevocable—once you publish the work to the web with a CC license attached, you are bound by those terms and anyone who complies with them is free to use your work accordingly. So, think carefully about how you want to make your work available for reuse before you choose an open license.
• LibraOpen also lets you choose a traditional "All rights reserved" license, which allows LibraOpen to make your work available, but grants no additional reuse rights to the public.

4. Prepare an abstract and keywords

• An abstract is required for submission to LibraOpen. If your work does not already have an abstract, use a word processing or text editing program to create and save at least a paragraph describing your scholarship to potential readers. If your work already has an abstract, you can copy and paste it into the submission form.
• Keywords are optional but recommended. Select at least 2 to 3 keywords that best describe the content of your work. Keywords can be taken from the abstract and/or title. Individual words and/or phrases may be used. Use keywords that will be easily recognized by others in your discipline.

5. Connect your ORCID ID

• You need to have an existing ORCID ID before making the connection in LibraOpen. For instructions on creating an ORCID ID, see our guide to creating and updating ORCID IDs.
• Once you have an ORCID ID, make sure that it is connected to UVA via the UVA-ORCID Connector.
• Log in to LibraOpen and navigate to your profile page. You may need to create your researcher profile if you have not done so already. To create a researcher profile:
  • Click the “Create New” button.
  • If you have submitted to LibraOpen before, there may already be a profile for you in the system. If this is the case, a window will pop up with a link to that profile, which you will then need to claim.
    • If the profile that pops up belongs to you:
      • Navigate to the profile page linked in the pop-up window. Click the black button with three white dots in the upper right hand corner (the Options button) and select “Claim.”
      • Go back to your account profile page and move on to the next step.
    • If a profile comes up that does not belong to you, check the “None of these are mine” box and click “Create a New One.”
• Once your profile is created, your profile page should say “Researcher profile associated.” You now have the option to make your profile public on LibraOpen, and there will also be a blue button labeled “View” and a red button saying “Delete.” Click the “View” button.
• On the view profile page, click the black button with three white dots in the upper right hand corner (the Options button) and select “Open ORCID Setting Page.”
• On this page, click “Connect to ORCID ID.” This will take you to the ORCID sign-in page. Log in with your ORCID ID and password.
• You will now see a page from ORCID asking you to authorize the University of Virginia to access and connect to your ORCID profile. If you agree to this access, click “Authorize.” If you do not agree, click “Deny” and you will not be able to connect your ORCID ID to LibraOpen.
• After clicking “Authorize,” you should be taken back to LibraOpen and your ORCID ID is now connected!

Deposit your work to LibraOpen

6. Create the record and describe your work 

• Log in to LibraOpen with your UVA NetBadge credentials. Any employee or student of the University who produces scholarly works may deposit items in LibraOpen.
  • You may also log in even if you don't intend to deposit anything, which will allow you to access UVA only items.
• After logging in, a vertical black navigation bar with a “+” will appear on the left hand side of your screen. Mouse over the bar, click “New,” and then choose “Item.”
• Select a collection in which to place your work. Typically, you should put your work in the collection associated with your department or school. If your department does not have a collection, put your work in the GENERAL collection for your school (“~GENERAL, School of Law,” “~GENERAL, School of Engineering,” etc.).
• Fill in the fields describing your work. Required fields are indicated on the form.
  • Authors
    • Enter authors in the order you would like them to appear.
    • If any authors on the work have an ORCID ID and would like this work to be associated with it on LibraOpen, enter their name exactly as it appears in their ORCID record, with their last name listed first. For example, if Jane Doe's ORCID names her as “Jane A. Doe,” you would enter her name in LibraOpen as “Doe, Jane A.”
  • DOI
    • If your work already has a DOI, put it in the Identifiers field:
      • Select “DOI” in the drop-down menu and put the DOI in the field directly to the right.
    • Otherwise, a new DOI will be created for the version in LibraOpen.

7. Add your files and set their visibility

• There are two ways to upload files:
  • Drag and drop them onto the page,
  • or click “browse” in the menu at the very top.
• Recommended file types:
  • Text content: PDF format. PDF/A is preferred for file preservation.
  • Video content: MP4 format (with H.264 codec, AAC audio, and in .mp4 container) is preferred.
  • Large supplemental files or data sets: Consider uploading to LibraData and linking them to your LibraOpen work via the “Related URL” field.
  • Other preferred file types: CSV, GIF, HTM, HTML, JPEG, JPG, MOV, MP3, MP4, PDF, PNG, TIF, TIFF, TXT, XML.
  • Contact Libra staff if you have questions about file formats or need assistance with video or data file deposits.
• Once your files are uploaded, you must set the access conditions for each file separately. Click the “Edit” button (an icon of a pencil in a square) next to the file name.
  • You may change the name of your file and add a description if you so choose.
  • If you have multiple files, you can designate one as the most important by checking the “Primary File” box.
  • The access condition options include “openaccess,” “UVA Only,” and “embargo.”
    • “openaccess” - This file will be available for download immediately by any user worldwide.
    • “UVA Only” - This file will be immediately available for download ONLY to users with an active UVA account. The description (abstract, keywords, and title) of your work will still be immediately accessible and discoverable worldwide.
      • Note: “UVA Only” is not consistent with the Faculty Senate or School of Data Science Open Access Guidelines.
      • If you select this option, you will need to select an end date. The maximum end date is five years in the future.
    • “Embargo” - No users will be able to download this file until the embargo period ends. Select only if your work is currently under an embargo from the original publisher. The information about your work (abstract, keywords, title, etc.) will still be immediately accessible and discoverable worldwide. After the embargo end date, the file will be immediately accessible to any users.
      • If you select this option, you will need to choose an end date. The maximum end date is five years in the future.
    • Please read the Libra deposit agreement that corresponds to the access condition you selected.

8. Review, Save, and Deposit

• At the bottom of the page, click “Save for later” to save what you have added as a draft; you may return at any point to edit and complete your deposit.
  • Your works in draft form may be found on the “MyLibraOpen” page accessible via the account menu in the top right, and they will have the “Workspace” label. Deposited works will have the “Archived” label and cannot be edited.
• Review the information you have entered and make any changes as necessary.
• Click “Deposit” to complete the process. You will receive an email confirming your submission with a link to its page in LibraOpen.

After your work is deposited

9. Check after you have made your work open

• You will receive an email acknowledging your newly deposited work. Follow the link provided in the email to see its DOI. You should use the DOI link — NOT the link to LibraOpen — when citing or linking to your work.
• Approximately one hour after deposit, you may check that your scholarship was successfully added to the Library’s collection by searching for your work in Virgo, the UVA Library online catalog.

Congratulations on opening your scholarship!