oURspace Digital Repository Mandate and Policies

Mandate

oURspace is an open access digital repository for published and unpublished material created by members of the University of Regina community. Its aim is to showcase and preserve the University of Regina’s unique intellectual output by making content freely available to anyone, anywhere, via the internet.

Accordingly, oURspace will take measures to ensure the long-term preservation of materials maintained in oURspace, to minimize the effects of information technology obsolescence, and to preserve the authenticity, security and accessibility of materials maintained in oURspace.

Note: The oURspace Non-Exclusive Distribution License is an integral part of oURspace Policies.

Policies

The purpose of these Policies is to set parameters for the acquisition, submission, public access and preservation of materials maintained in oURspace.

1. Defined Terms

a. “Dr. John Archer Library & Archives” means the University Librarian, or a designate.

b. “Materials” means research and other academic and creative materials that have been archived in oURspace.

c. “Submitter” means the member of the University of Regina community who makes a submission of Materials to oURspace.

d. “License Agreement” means the license signed by the Submitter as part of the process to submit the Materials to oURspace, and includes any agreed upon amendments thereto.

2. Acquisition Policy

a. oURspace will accept research, academic and creative materials developed by members of the University of Regina community, including materials generated by faculty, staff and students as well as materials deemed to have archival value to the University and its stakeholders.

b. Materials produced by persons outside the University of Regina community may be added to oURspace upon approval of the Dr. John Archer Library & Archives.

3. Submission Requirements

a. Materials will be neither critically examined nor peer-reviewed as part of the process of submission and deposit into oURspace.

b. All submissions must be made by, or with the express consent of, the creator(s) of the Materials, or the person(s) holding copyright in the Materials and any part thereof.

c. Materials, and all associated descriptive information, must be complete at the time of submission to oURspace. In particular:

-be in their final formatted and edited state, and provided in digital form.

4. Technical Requirements

a. All Materials must be submitted in digital form.

b. The Dr. John Archer Library & Archives cannot guarantee the preservation of information presented in less commonly used digital formats.

5. Limits on Public Access to Materials

a. Generally, all Materials will be made available to the public in accordance with the license terms selected by the Submitter.

b. A Submitter may request that their Materials be withheld from public access for a certain period of time (otherwise known as a publication delay or embargo). Except as set out in section 5.c. below (regarding graduate theses and dissertations), the application and approval process for a publication delay/embargo is as follows:

(i) All requests must be made to the Dr. John Archer Library & Archives at the time of submission, together with the reason for the publication delay/embargo (for example: pending publication, publisher embargo, and/or the confidential or commercially sensitive nature of the information the Materials contain).

(ii) The Dr. John Archer Library & Archives will consider all of the circumstances when making determinations regarding whether to grant a publication delay/embargo, and the length of any such delay. The Dr. John Archer Library & Archives is not obligated to approve any request for a publication delay/embargo, but the Dr. John Archer Library & Archives will respect publication delay/embargo policies agreed upon by the Dr. John Archer Library & Archives and groups representing Submitters or setting standards for Submissions (e.g. faculties).

(iii) A publication delay/embargo agreed upon by the Dr. John Archer Library & Archives and the Submitter is only valid and binding after it has been put into writing.

(iv) If the Submitter does not agree with the Dr. John Archer Library & Archives decision regarding a publication delay/embargo, the Submitter should engage the Head of their department or Dean (as the Submitter may deem appropriate) and, if necessary, the Head or Dean may engage the University Librarian in collaborative resolution discussions.

c. For graduate students submitting a thesis or dissertation, the application and approval process for a publication delay/embargo is as follows:

(i) All requests for a publication delay/embargo and any other special terms of public access to the Materials, must be made to Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research, in advance of submitting the Materials to oURspace.

(ii) The Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research will make a determination and oURspace will respect that determination.

(iii) If the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research approves a publication delay/embargo or other special terms, the Submitter must inform the Dr. John Archer Library & Archives when submitting the Materials to oURspace, providing such supporting information as the Dr. John Archer Library & Archives may require. Upon the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research confirming the embargo date with the Dr. John Archer Library & Archives, the Library will implement the embargo date.

6. Withdrawal of Public Access

a. Meaning of Withdrawal. To withdraw public access to Materials means to make the Materials inaccessible to the public.

b. Withdrawal of Public Access. Without limitation, the Dr. John Archer Library & Archives may, at its sole discretion, choose not to make any particular Materials publicly available or choose to withdraw public access to any Materials, temporarily or permanently, for any reason, including, but not limited to:

(i) any of the representations or warranties set out in the License Agreement being incorrect or inaccurate;

(ii) claimed or suspected copyright infringement or plagiarism;

(iii) failure to obtain required approvals from the applicable Research Ethics Board(s) or revocation of such approval(s);

(iv) concerns related to national security, public safety or danger to individuals; and/or

(v) claims or concerns of scholarly misconduct.

In addition, the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research (may exercise the same discretion with respect to dissertations and theses accepted into oURspace, and the Dr. John Archer Library & Archives will respect the Faculty’s determination.

c. Request to Withdraw Public Access for Materials other than dissertations and theses. All requests to temporarily or permanently withdraw public access to Materials must be made to the Dr. John Archer Library & Archives. The Dr. John Archer Library & Archives is not obligated to approve any withdrawal request. The Dr. John Archer Library & Archives will consider all of the circumstances, make a final determination of all requests, and inform the applicant of the decision. Some of the reasons for approving a withdrawal request are listed in Section 6.b. above.

d. Request to Withdraw Public Access for dissertations and theses. All requests to temporarily or permanently withdraw public access to a dissertation or thesis must be made as follows:

(i) For dissertations and theses accepted into oURspace, the request must be made to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research. The Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research is not obligated to approve any withdrawal request. The Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research will consider all of the circumstances and make a final determination of all requests. The Dr. John Archer Library & Archives will comply with the determination of the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research. Some of the reasons for approving a withdrawal request are listed in Section 6.b. above.

f. Notification of Withdrawal.

(i) If withdrawing public access in accordance with this Section 6, the Dr. John Archer Library & Archives or the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research with respect to dissertations and theses) will attempt to notify the applicant and the Materials’ Submitter of the decision as soon as is reasonably possible (in advance if possible), give a short summary of its reason(s), and give a reasonable opportunity to respond.

(ii) The Dr. John Archer Library & Archives may temporarily remove public access to any Materials pending confirmation of outstanding issues with the Materials or resolution of a dispute regarding the Materials.

(iii) If the applicant or the Materials’ Submitter (as the case may be) does not agree with the decision regarding withdrawal or removal, that person should engage the Head of the relevant department or Dean (as that person may deem appropriate), and, if necessary, the Head or Dean may engage the University Librarian in collaborative resolution discussions.

7. Permanent Removal of Materials from oURspace

a. If the decision is made to temporarily or permanently withdraw public access to any Materials (in accordance with Section 6 above), the Dr. John Archer Library & Archives will maintain the Materials in oURspace with access restricted to the Dr. John Archer Library & Archives staff administering oURspace.

b. However, in extraordinary circumstances, the Dr. John Archer Library & Archives may remove such Materials from oURspace.

8. Preservation of Materials in oURspace

a. The Dr. John Archer Library & Archives undertakes to preserve Materials in oURsapce for the long term by means of regular backups, by minimizing the effects of information technology obsolescence and by preserving the authenticity, security and accessibility of the Materials.

9. Review and Amendment of these Policies

a. These Policies have been approved and may be amended by the Library Leadership Team.

b. oURspace contributors, individually or collectively by department or faculty, are encouraged to engage with the Dr. John Archer Library & Archives to establish oURspace contribution policies specific to their needs, including (but not limited to) policies regarding publication delays or embargoes.

Revised: September 17, 2021
Approved by LLT: October 26, 2021

Adapted with permission from UBC Library.