Guidelines for contributing University documents:

Digital Commons (DC@SPU) is available for the permanent storage and access needs of electronically created (“born digital”) official university records and records of organizations sanctioned by the University intended for public use.

Why should I send University records to DC@SPU?

  • Protects records in a system that has multiple backups in different geographic locations
  • Increased visibility and usage of materials through Google and other search engines.

What is a “University record”?

(Additional record types may be suggested at any time.)

Minutes
Reports
Policies, Procedures, Regulations
Publications: Catalogues, bulletins, brochures, directories, periodicals, newsletters and any other official publication of the University, departments or campus groups. Also, selected publications by faculty, alumni and students.
Photographs, recordings, programs, etc.: Created in the course of official university events or other activities originated by campus organizations.

Guidelines for Submitting Records

The office that originates the record is responsible for providing an electronic copy of it to Adrienne Meier, University Archivist ().

Once posted to Digital Commons, records will not be removed. New entries will be made for revised policies, new reports, etc., and a note about what is being revised will be added to the description of the new document.

The archives will upload documents on behalf of campus offices and groups, but people wishing to upload their own documents to their section of DC@SPU may contact the Archivist about setting up an account and receiving training.

Access Restrictions

Under certain circumstances, access to electronically-deposited records may be restricted to the offices that create the records but the default upload makes everything openly available on the Web. If access restrictions on record types listed here are sought, contact the Archivist for help establishing reasonable restriction time periods so that records may be made available for research in the future.

Printed records and other physical formats

These records are housed in the University Archives of the SPU Library. Contact Adrienne Meier, University Archivist () for advice on selection of records to retain, or to arrange transfer of physical records and artifacts.

As time and staff permit, some physical records will be digitized for inclusion in DC@SPU. To suggest material for this conversion, contact Adrienne Meier, University Archivist (). For more information on the SPU Archives, see .

“Born Digital” records

When submitting records via email, please include information necessary for understanding the history of the document and it’s relation to a physical format, if any.
Example 1: It may not be possible to understand the actual printed size of a poster that was created in Word. Please include any information that will help people understand the record in the future.
Example 2: When sending an audio or video file, state what kind of equipment recorded it and how long the recording lasts.

Withdrawal Policy

Please contact the Digital Commons Coordinator to discuss options for withdrawing items from DC@SPU.

Please contact Kristen Hoffman, Scholarly Communications Librarian () with any questions or concerns.


Last reviewed & updated November 18, 2013