Upload to the University Digital Conservancy

Articles and preprints can be added to the Digital Conservancy, and are a great way to further Open Access initiatives.  This page will help you look into any publisher agreements that might govern the use of your article/preprint, and provide step-by-step instructions to deposit your work.

Here are a couple of hints to help you complete your deposit:

• Choosing a collection: Most articles and preprints are added to the "Articles and Scholarly Works" collection for the relevant campus, and depositors can add items directly to those collections without assistance.  Some colleges, schools, departments, centers, and laboratories have their own collections where staff and faculty research are collected; if you believe your article/preprint belongs in such a collection, email us at udc@umn.edu and we'll help you get it uploaded
• Item type: Be sure to choose Article or Preprint as appropriate.  If your article is not going to be published elsewhere, choose Scholarly Text/Essay as the item type.
• Previously publication information: If your article/preprint has been published elsewhere, be sure to include that information in this section.  Some publishers may also request that you add a statement to preprints explaining their relationship to the finished article; this can be done in the "Description" field.

If you have already published or are considering publishing your work in the future, be sure to consider the following:

• For previously published works, the following tools can assist with understanding and responding to publisher copyright agreements:
  • The SHERPA/RoMEO Database provides summaries of permissions normally given to authors by academic and scholarly publishers to help you determine your works' copyright status.
  • Authors may also use the official U of M Author's Addendum [PDF] when negotiating with publishers to retain their copyrights when publishing.
  • Have you signed a copyright transfer agreement with a publisher? The University Open Access Policy (effective January 1, 2015) may apply and allow you to upload previously published content.
• If you are considering publishing your work in the future, be aware that some commercial publishers prefer not to publish works that are already available in full online. However, if you expect you'll make significant revisions or edits to the work before commercial publication (as with revising a dissertation) this is often less of a concern.

Logging in

1. Go to the Digital Conservancy webpage: https://conservancy.umn.edu/home

2. Click "Log In" in the upper right corner.

3. Click the "Log in with Shibboleth" button that appears in the upper right corner.  Follow the on-screen prompts to sign in using your UMN account information -- use the same information you'd use to sign into your email or MyU.  For help using Duo two-factor authentication, see IT@UMN's guide to Duo.

 

Creating a new account

Creating a new account is easy! Just follow the same login directions as above to create your account.

It's quick and easy to complete a self-deposit!

1. From the Digital Conservancy home page (https://conservancy.umn.edu/home), log into the system, and click the white plus (+) sign on the left-hand menu bar.

2. Click "New," and then "Item"

 

Most submitters will want to choose Articles and Scholarly Works for their items.  You may also select one of the following campuses if applicable.

• Crookston: choose Articles and Scholarly Works (Crookston)
• Rochester: choose Articles and Scholarly Works (Rochester)
• Duluth: choose Articles and Scholarly Works (Duluth)

 

You can choose a collection by scrolling through the list of available collections, or by typing the collection title in the search box.

You can add files to your submission by dragging and dropping them anywhere in the window, or by clicking the browse link at the top of the screen.

Successfully uploaded files will display an "Upload successful" message box at the top of the page and will appear under the "Upload files" section of this form.

 

After uploading, a green confirmation box will appear in the upper right corner of the screen

 

You can see all the files you've uploaded at the bottom of the submission form.

 

Before you upload, check the following:

• Check that your file format is suitable for sharing and for preservation by checking our preferred file format guidance
• Name your file something useful -- it will be visible to everyone once your submission is complete
• If you have video or audio files, make sure they're accessible by adding transcripts and/or captions

 

If you're having trouble uploading your files, check the following:

• Check that your file is under 5GB in size.  If your file is over 5GB in size and can't be compressed or split into multiple parts, contact us using the email found elsewhere on this page.
• Check your internet connection's upload speeds.  Upload is often much slower than download; you can mitigate this by using a wired (ethernet) connection or using a faster network, such as eduroam on campus.

1. Add authors (recommended).  For individuals, add their surname or family name in the "Last name" field, and their given or personal name in the "First name" field.  Initials can be added to the first name field if desired and should include periods.  For institutional authors, put the entire name in the "Last name" field.  Multiple authors can be added by clicking the red "+ Add more" button below the name entry fields.

Examples:

• Last name: Smith      First name: Margaret H.
• Last name: University of Minnesota. Office for Public Engagement
• Last name: Johnson      First name: J.D.

 

2. Add a title (required).  Use the title of the item if it already has one.  If it doesn't have a title, create one that is descriptive and specific.  For series or other publications that will have the same name, consider adding a date, volume number, or other identifying information. 

Examples:

• Registrar's Advisory Committee Minutes: November 9, 2023
• ICI Staff Newsletter "FYI" October 2012
• Minnesota Loggers and Invasive Forst Plants: Attitudes, Behaviors, and Concerns

 

3. Add a date (required).  List the date the item was published or otherwise completed.  Only a year is required, but a month and day can be optionally added.

Examples:

• 1929
• 1985-Nov
• 2019-April-23

 

4. Tell us what kind of item you're submitting (required).  Select the item type that best matches the your submission from the list provided.  At least one type is required, but more than one type can be selected.

Tips:

• You can select more than one item type if necessary, but it is recommended to only choose one or two.
• More help on choosing the right type for your item is available on the "Tips and help" page of this Research Guide.

 

5. Add an abstract (optional).  If an abstract already exists for your item, copy it into the abstract box.  If your item doesn't have an abstract, you'll have space later to describe your item in detail.

Tips:

• Shorter abstracts tend to work best (less than 250 words), but abstracts of any length may be added
• Executive summaries or takeaway sections can also be used instead of an abstract
• Abstracts cannot contain any special characters, paragraph breaks, or other special formatting (bold, italic, bullet points, etc).

 

6. Add publisher information (optional).  If your submission was previously published, add the name of the publisher and their preferred citation for the item.

Tips:

• If your item is not yet published, this information can be added at a later date; just email your change to udc@umn.edu
• If the publisher does not provide a recommended citation, use whatever citation style is most commonly used in your field

 

7. Add a series/report number (optional).  If the item is a serial or part of a series, list the series name and the number for this particular item.

 

8. Add other identifiers (optional).  If your item has an existing identification (like a DOI or ISBN number), add it here.

Examples:

• DOI
• ISBN/ISSN
• URI

 

9.  Tell us what language your submission is in (recommended).  Use the drop-down menu to select the primary language of your item.

Examples:

• English (United States)
• Spanish
• (Other)

 

10. Add subject keywords (recommended).  Add keywords that describe the subjects or topics covered in your item.

Tips:

• Be sure to use the "Add more" button to separate your keywords
• If you regularly submit items with similar keywords, use the exact same keywords to link items.  Capitalization and plurals count (e.g., "Cheese," "cheese," and "cheeses" are all different keywords).

 

11. Add funding and sponsor information (optional).  Add any relevant sponsors and funding information, including any required statements, grant numbers, etc.

Tips:

• Some funders will provide you with a statement to use on your item; that same statement can be used in this field as well.
• Where applicable, include information like award numbers and dates.

 

12. Add a description (recommended). Add details about your submission including topics covered, including technical information like page count or audio/video duration.  Consider adding information about when and where an item was presented or disseminated, others who had a role in creating the item (i.e. faculty advisor on a UROP project or planning committee members for conference proceedings), or any other contextual information that will assist researchers in understanding and using the item.

Examples:

• Faculty Advisor: Dr. Kathryn Richard
• Runtime 37:24
• Article preprint; scheduled to be published in July 2025

Tip:

• Abstracts cannot contain any special characters, paragraph breaks, or other special formatting (bold, italic, bullet points, etc).

 

13. Sign the deposit agreement (required).  The deposit agreement is where creators declare that their submissions meet the requirements of the Digital Conservancy, and where they grant the Digital Conservancy permission to distribute and preserve all works placed in the repository.

 

14. Finalize your deposit (required).  Click the green "+Deposit" button to finalize your deposit and submit your materials to the Digital Conservancy.