Upload to the University Digital Conservancy

The University of Minnesota Digital Conservancy, also called the Digital Conservancy or the UDC, is the institutional repository of the University of Minnesota.  It provides free, public access and long-term preservation to work created at the U of M.

The University of Minnesota Digital Conservancy (UDC) is:

• a venue for faculty to deposit open access copies of their scholarly work,
• a showcase for select student works, such as dissertations and honors theses,
• home to the Data Repository for the University of Minnesota (DRUM), and
• centralized, searchable access to institutional digital records including those of the University of Minnesota Archives.

Why deposit to the Digital Conservancy?

• Higher exposure in web search engines, like Google and Google Scholar.
• Persistant URLs mean no more broken links in references to your work.
• Secure and archival storage, so you don't have to worry about it later.

The University Digital Conservancy provides U of M authors a location to freely deposit their materials. The Digital Conservancy provides free and open access, increases visibility, ensures compliance with public access requirements, as well as provides full-text discoverability and long-term preservation of your work. Additional features are described at conservancy.umn.edu/.

Eligibility guidelines

Not all materials can be deposited in the Digital Conservancy or DRUM.  All deposits must meet the following eligibility requirements:

• Contributors must be U of M affiliates with a valid Internet ID.
• The Digital Conservancy must be granted permission (via our Deposit Agreement) to distribute and preserve all works placed in the repository. The author/original copyright owner retains copyright on all works.
• Deposits generally may not include coursework.  If you believe your coursework might belong in the Digital Conservancy, contact us at udc@umn.edu.
• Works must be free from any restrictions and be appropriate for open access by all users of the Digital Conservancy (read on for more information about these considerations).

Working with collaborators

Only one University-affiliated author is needed to deposit into the Digital Conservancy and DRUM. However, co-authors, supervisors, collaborators, research subjects, and advisors may have interests in your works.

• If your work was authored jointly with other collaborators, it is good practice to make sure that all interested parties agree on sharing publicly via the Digital Conservancy.
• If you are not the primary investigator or inventor, please ensure you have the permission of the primary investigator or inventor before uploading to the Digital Conservancy.
• If your work was produced under the supervision of someone else (e.g. UROP and Honors students) or if there are other interested parties (e.g. funders), you should consult with your supervisor or advisor or administrator before uploading.

Withdrawal Policy

Content submission to the University Digital Conservancy is permanent. Under certain circumstances an item in the Digital Conservancy may be removed from view (e.g. due to a violation of University Digital Conservancy deposit agreement).