FAQ

Are all materials submitted for inclusion in the Repository accepted?
Scholarly materials created by MNU faculty, staff, students, and alumni are generally accepted for deposit in the MNU Institutional Repository. Mabee Library faculty and staff will consult with the MNU Institutional Repository Committee to determine if the scholarly merits of the work under consideration are unclear. Scholarly works not published elsewhere will not require rights management research, and may be readily added to the Repository.

May materials that have been published elsewhere be submitted to the Repository?
Yes. Mabee Library faculty and staff will conduct rights management research to determine the copyright status of the work that has been published elsewhere. If rights are available, the work will be deposited in a timely manner. If, however, a work is embargoed or temporarily unavailable, the Library will create appropriate documentation so that rights can be researched again when the work is scheduled to become available. In some cases, unfortunately, rights cannot be obtained.

If a work was originally published in an open access journal, may it be deposited in the Repository?
Generally, yes. Library faculty and staff can help make that determination.

Are copyright privileges lost when a work is submitted to the Repository?
No. Works contributed to the MNU Institutional Repository remain fully protected by copyright laws. Under U.S. copyright law, the faculty, staff, student, or alumni’s work is under copyright protection the moment it is created and fixed in a tangible form. For more information, see http://www.copyright.gov/

Will the deposit of materials in the Repository preclude subsequent publication in a scholarly journal?
While journal publishers control such decisions, the trend is toward tolerance. (Open access publishing is exerting considerable pressure on traditional publishers of scholarly works.) Authors are encouraged to contact the journal publisher to inquire about their policies. Whatever the policy, the authoritative document is the copyright agreement signed by the author and the publisher. If this agreement requires that the pre-print posted in the MNU Institutional Repository be removed, we will assist with that. Note that not all agreements require this, and, in fact, many publishers have adopted policies that encourage authors to deposit their pre-press articles in publicly accessible servers.

Do submitted materials need to be refereed?
While many of the materials deposited in the MNU Institutional Repository have gone through a peer-review process, this is not required.

How does Mabee Library deposit scholarly works in the Repository?
While Library faculty and staff conduct rights management research, they do not edit submitted work. Works are reviewed for completeness, and it are “cataloged.” In this cataloging process, Library faculty and staff add descriptive and subject term metadata to aid in retrieval, making the work more easily discoverable.

What kinds of materials may be deposited in the Repository?
The MNU Institutional Repository can accommodate a wide variety of materials in print and multimedia formats. Examples include, but are not limited to,  articles, audio files, conference proceedings, data files, musical scores, performances, posters, presentations, research papers (published and unpublished), slide presentations, theses and dissertations, and video files. The goal is that any form of scholarly work that can be obtained or converted to digital format may be included in the Repository.

How long will MNU retain materials in the Repository?
Materials deposited in the MNU Institutional Repository will be retained indefinitely. One of the main goals of the Repository is to preserve scholarship in a stable archival environment.

What happens to deposited materials when faculty, staff, or students leave MNU?
Materials contributed to the MNU Institutional Repository will remain, and be retained indefinitely, in the Repository after faculty, staff, and students leave the University.

May works be removed from the Repository?
While requests for removal will be honored, authors are strongly encouraged to leave their materials in the MNU Institutional Repository so as not to dilute the value of this online scholarly resource. More common reasons for the removal of materials include publishers' requirements, proven copyright violation or plagiarism, or other legal requirements.

Should this “Frequently Asked Questions” listing be considered exhaustive?
By no means. Additional questions not answered on this page may be posed to library@mnu.edu, or in person or by phone, 913.971.3485, to any Mabee Library faculty or staff member.