Tufts Digital Library FAQ

Tufts faculty, researchers, students and staff can deposit scholarship into the Tufts Digital Library (TDL) using our deposit form. If you have any questions not answered below or on our main TDL page, please contact us.

What kinds of scholarship can I contribute?

Using our deposit form, you can deposit a wide range of content, including:

  • Published & unpublished scholarship
    • Articles, including pre-prints, post-prints, and open access articles
    • Conference papers, proceedings & posters
    • Working papers and technical reports
    • Books & book chapters
  • Undergraduate honors theses 
  • Undergraduate Summer Scholar & Tisch Library Undergraduate Research Award projects
  • Fletcher School Capstone projects
  • GIS Poster Expo student winner posters
  • Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Education Qualifying Papers
  • Masters in Animal and Public Policy theses
  • PHPD Field Experience/Capstone projects

If you have other content to deposit (such as teaching materials, other types of student research output, collections of research materials, etc.) please contact Andrea Schuler.

What file formats can I deposit?

Files should be uploaded as pdfs. If you have audio, video, image or TEI files please contact Andrea Schuler for support in contributing these files to the TDL.

Where can I share my data, appendices, or other supplemental material?

If you've collected data that you'd like to make openly available, check out our Research Data Management @ Tufts guide for a list of major research data repositories. Appendices, charts, and other supplemental material might be made available via the TDL, or via a data repository. Contact us to talk more about your material and the most appropriate place to make it available.

What do I hold copyright to?

Copyright is a bundle of exclusive rights conferred automatically upon the author of a work at the time of its creation. You do not need to register your work to have copyright. Visit our Author’s Rights or the Tufts’ Intellectual Property pages for more information.

For works with more than author, unless another agreement has been made, each author is considered a joint copyright holder and has equal right to exercise their copyright.

If your work has been previously published, you may no longer hold copyright. See below for more information.

Does my publisher allow me to deposit this article in the TDL?

Many publishers now allow authors to deposit a pre-print version or the accepted (post peer-review) version of their article into institutional repositories. Few publishers allow their final (copy-edited & formatted) pdf version to be deposited.

If you’ve already signed an author’s agreement for your article, check your copy of the agreement, or look up your publisher in the SHERPA/RoMEO database to see what they allow.

If you’d like any assistance with determining which of your articles can be deposited, please contact us.

What are pre-prints and post-prints?

A pre-print, or original manuscript, is a version of an article before it has been submitted for peer review. This is the first version submitted to the publisher.

A post-print, or accepted manuscript, is the version of an article after submission and peer-review, but prior to final formatting by the publisher. This is the final manuscript version submitted to the publisher.

A publisher’s pdf, or version of record, is the version of an article as it appears in a journal, with the publisher’s formatting. This version typically cannot be shared, but records for published scholarship deposited in the TDL will include a link to the final version on the publisher’s site.

Most journals will allow you to deposit your pre or post-print. Step-by-step instructions are available for retrieving a post-print copy from many journal submissions systems.

What about embargoes?

By default, material submitted to the TDL will be openly available to the world. Some publisher’s agreements require that a work be embargoed for a period of time (typically 12-24 months) before it can be made available in an institutional repository. You can deposit your work at any time and the repository will manage the embargo, making it available only after the embargo period has passed. Check your author's agreement, or look up your publisher in the SHERPA/RoMEO database to find out their policies.

Do I retain copyright of my work in the TDL?

Yes. Our deposit license gives Tufts the non-exclusive right to make the work available in the TDL while you retain your copyright.

Can I submit a collection of faculty papers or university records?

Tufts Digital Collections and Archives (DCA) collects a variety of materials to document the university’s activities and in support of the teaching and research mission of the institution. Visit DCA’s Donate page to learn more.