Upload to the University Digital Conservancy

The Digital Conservancy is a home for many kinds of materials that aren't detailed in this guide!  If you have an item that you think is eligible for deposit but isn't listed here, email us using the contact information at the left.  Some items might include:

• books or other items you want to self-publish in the Digital Conservancy
• posters or papers from a UMN conference/event
• teaching materials/learning objects
• oral histories
• ...and more!

Researchers with datasets may be able to deposit their data in DRUM, a publicly available collection of digital research data generated by University of Minnesota researchers, students, and staff. Anyone can search and download the data housed in the repository, instantly or by request.  To learn more about DRUM and research data preservation, check:

• The Research Data Services website
• DRUM's Deposit Guide
• Our About DRUM page

Articles and Scholarly Works

• What to Deposit: Upload your work for open-access (i.e. pre-prints, post-prints, and published manuscripts, as well as supplementary information or some capstone projects).
• What to Expect: Staff will review and accept submissions, and will contact you to let you know if there is an existing collection that may better fit your submission.

Undergraduate Research Opportunities (UROP)

• What to Deposit: Add your UROP, URS, or other undergraduate research poster or paper. This does not include general coursework; see our eligibility guidelines for more information on coursework.
• What to Expect: Each campus has its own collection of UROP projects – be sure to choose the collection specific to your campus.  Staff will process submissions, usually within 1-2 business days of receipt, and provide you with a persistent URL for your project.

DRUM

• What to Deposit: Publish data that you’ve collected or produced while a student, researcher, or faculty member of the University of Minnesota.
• What to Expect: Your data will be reviewed by curators who will work with you to ensure that your data is discoverable and accessible.

Someplace else?

Some users may have the ability to upload to other locations.  If you need help, want to upload work to a collection not on this list, or would like to create a new collection, please contact us using the email provided elsewhere on this page.

The Digital Conservancy offers many different item types, and sometimes it can be difficult to know what type to choose for your item!  Use these detailed definitions to help you select the best type for your item.  You can choose more than one item type, but it's generally best to choose only one or two.

• Administrative Document: Administrative documents are records of how the University of Minnesota operates.  Examples might include summaries of a unit's activities, a prospectus for future growth, a strategic plan, organizational chart, or a roster of committee members.  Meeting minutes from administrative bodies should be typed as "Minutes."
• Article: Articles are short-form texts on a specific topic, often published as part of an academic journal or magazine.  Most have completed a peer review process, as well as an editing/formatting process prior to publication.  Some publishers request that final versions of articles are not uploaded to institutional repositories, but will allow preprints or accepted versions to be submitted; if you are adding one of these versions to the Digital Conservancy, choose "Preprint."  Items that are unpublished but could otherwise be considered an article may fall under "Working Paper," "Technical Report," or "Scholarly Text or Essay."
• Audio: Audio includes any form of recorded sound, and may be accompanied by explanatory text such as a program, playlist, or transcript.  Examples include radio programs, podcasts, or recorded concerts.  Recorded interviews may be a type of audio or video file and should be typed as "Oral History."
• Book: Books are complete, long-form published works on a topic.  A book does not need to be published in a physical (paper) format to be considered a book.  If only part of the book is submitted, consider using "Book Chapter" instead of "Book."
• Book Chapter: Book chapters are one section of a book, and usually cover a specific standalone topic.  If your work is part of a journal or magazine rather than part of a book, choose "Article;" if your work is not published as part of a larger item, choose "Scholarly Text or Essay."
• Conference Paper: Some academic conferences require presenters to submit a formal paper as part of their proposal to speak at the conference and/or for inclusion in the conference's published proceedings.  Conference papers may be submitted with other accompanying materials such as a poster or slides (which are considered a "presentation").
• Dataset: Datasets are structured research data that the creator wishes to share publicly to facilitate use/reuse of their data and to support related publications (such as an article or book).  Datasets are generally submitted through DRUM.
• Image: A single image, such as a photograph of an event, a painting, or a logo.  Posters from academic conferences are similar, but should be typed as "Poster."  Maps are another kind of image that have their own item type -- if your image is a map, be sure to choose that instead.
• Learning Object: Learning objects include educational materials such as fact sheets, tutorials, primers, lesson plans, curricula, Frequently Asked Questions documents, assessment tools, and similar materials that fall outside of the "Book" or "Manual or Documentation" categories.  For example, a textbook would be considered a book, but a class activity using that textbook would be a learning object.
• Magazine: An entire periodical publication that contains several varieties of content, often including articles and images.  If only part of a magazine is added, choose the type that best corresponds to the portion being uploaded (such as "Article").
• Manual or Documentation: Manuals and documentation includes instructional resources designed to show someone how to complete a specific task or work with a specific system or kind of material.  Examples include how-to guides or instructions for using software.
• Map: Maps document or represent spatial relationships.  Maps may be images, such as a digital rendering of a park trail system, or a digitized map of state highways from the 1920s.  Maps may also be complex digital objects including GIS files.
• Minutes: Minutes are a specific type of administrative document that record agendas and summarize the happenings at a specific meeting.  Minutes are generally formal documents and are often reviewed and either amended or approved at the next meeting.  Meeting minutes may be uploaded individually (for a single meeting) or in batches (covering an entire year).
• News Bulletin: News Bulletins and press releases are short, informational texts written to be shared externally on social media and via news outlets.  Topics are often timely, relating to a specific event of broad, public interest.
• Newsletter: Newsletters are periodical publications that generally contain short items relating to a specific interest or group, such as faculty/staff of a specific department, members of a student organization, or frequent visitors to a museum.  Newsletters are generally longer than a news bulletin and cover multiple topics, but they are generally shorter than a magazine and often have fewer images.
• Oral History: An oral history is a type of interview with one or more subjects or narrators, often made available as a video or audio recording and frequently an additional typed transcript.  Oral histories should not be uploaded unless/until the interviewee has given express and informed consent to have their interview made broadly available on the internet via the Digital Conservancy.
• Poster: Academic posters are often displayed at conferences and other events to summarize research, a project, or other academic undertaking.  Posters presented in a formal academic context may also add "Presentation" as a type.  Art, graphic advertisement, or informational posters can also be sorted as posters.
• Preprint: Preprints are versions of academic articles that have been peer reviewed and accepted for publication, but that have not yet been edited and formatted for publication.  Some publishers allow preprints or accepted versions of articles to be added to institutional repositories in lieu of final/published versions.  If your text includes publisher's edits and layout, choose "Article."  If your text is not being submitted for formal publication, consider using "Working Paper," "Technical Report," or "Scholarly Text or Essay" instead.
• Presentation: Presentations include materials used in delivering a talk such as a lecture, conference session, or an academic poster.  If the item includes handouts or other materials for use in an educational context, consider using "Learning Object."  If the item includes a recording of the talk itself, consider using "Audio" or "Video or Animation."
• Report: Reports are often formal, administrative documents created at the conclusion of a project, study, or funding period (such as a grant).  Reports are intended to document and describe work done to administrators, funders, and leaders, and are not peer-reviewed.  For research-specific reports, choose "Technical Report."  If the item is intended for an audience of academic peers, consider "Working Paper"  or "Scholarly Text or Essay" instead.
• Scholarly Text or Essay: Scholarly Texts and Essays are academic texts that are not peer reviewed, and are generally not published elsewhere.  If the item is peer-reviewed, consider "Article" or "Preprint;"  If the item is partially finished and will be published later in a more complete form, consider "Working Paper."  If the topic is a summary of research done, consider "Technical Report" instead.
• Technical Report: Technical reports, also called scientific reports, are very similar to working papers, but are specifically written to communicate about research.  Technical reports are generally not peer-reviewed and are not intended for further publication; if your item has undergone peer review, consider "Article" or "Preprint" instead.  If the item is not about research, consider "Working Paper" or "Scholarly Text or Essay" instead.
• Video or Animation: Videos and animations are moving images and may include things like documentaries, recordings of lectures, or footage from athletic events.  Videos may be accompanied by caption files, transcripts, or supplementary materials like a slide deck.
• Working Paper: A working paper is similar to an article or preprint, but it is generally not peer-reviewed or accepted by a publisher.  Working papers are often the basis for later works that are published, and are frequently released as a working paper to solicit feedback to improve and inform later iterations of the work.  If an item has undergone peer review, consider using "Article" or "Preprint."  If the item is specifically intended to communicate the results of research, consider "Technical Report."  If the work is in its final form, but is not being submitted for formal publication, consider "Scholarly Text or Essay."
• Other: The "Other" type is available as a last resort; items are much easier to find and use if they are not classified as "other."  If your item isn't close to any of the available options, choose "other" and consider adding extra information describing your item in the Description field.

UDC staff may edit, change, or add to the type selected for your work to better align its description with other items in the repository.

You can view all of your submissions, including both completed and draft submissions, under your user profile.

1. Start by logging in.  Once logged in, click on the user icon in the upper right

2. Select "My Submissions" from the menu

3. To view unfinished or draft submissions, filter the list by Status, choosing "Workspace" from the drop-down.