FAC FAQ

What is the Flinders Academic Commons (FAC)?

The FAC is a digital repository for disseminating and preserving scholarly work created at Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia. The FAC offers faculty and staff a central location for depositing research or other scholarly work including research, working papers, pre-publication scholarship, and published papers for which authors have retained copyright or acquired permission to post. In addition, the FAC provides enduring access and makes the content easily discoverable.

Top

Do other universities have digital repositories?

Yes: examples include the Australian National University ( http://dspace.anu.edu.au/ ) University of California system (EScholarship: ( http://repositories.cdlib.org/escholarship/ ) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (DSpace: http://dspace.mit.edu ).

Top

How is the FAC organized?

The archive is organized into communities (departments, research centers, or other categories). Communities define the kinds of material they want to include, the collections into which the material will be organised, and the personnel who can contribute. The communities are further categorized by collections and sub-communities.

Top

Is special software required to upload files?

No: the system uses standard web browsers; PC, Mac, and UNIX platforms are supported. As long as you have access to a browser (i.e. Firefox, Explorer, Safari) and you are connected to the internet you can upload and view files.

Top

What kinds of materials can I deposit?

The system will accept any file format (but see below for preservation implications). Communities may set their own guidelines regarding the types of content they want to deposit. Examples of appropriate content may include statistical datasets, working papers, technical reports, and other scholarship not usually submitted for peer-reviewed publications, along with previously published material under certain conditions (see our separate FAQ on Copyright and Publication ). We prefer that document be saved as PDF (Portable Document Format) rather than Word files. If you are not certain how to convert to PDF please email Katie.cavanagh@flinders.edu.au and she will help you sort it out.

Top

I have a large number of previously published articles that I wish to contribute. Can you help?

Yes. The Library or Humanities Research Centre for Cultural Heritage and Exchange can assist with requesting copyright permissions and we can discuss scanning the offprints into PDF.

Top

How can I delete a file after depositing it?

In the current version of the software, only Library staff can delete files. Communities will set policies regarding the conditions under which files will be authorized for deletion (for example, at the request of the author, or with the permission of the community administrator, etc.). This is an archive, so multiple versions (within reason) are acceptable.

Top

Can I still link to my papers from my own website?

Yes – you can still link to individual papers in the FAC from your personal or department website. The FAC takes care of all the technical aspects and since your file is carefully and securely stored your link will be permanent.

Top

Who can read the files in the FAC?

The Flinders Academic Commons is a gathering space for freely distributed research. There is open access to all deposited items for all users of the World Wide Web.

Top

What is metadata and why is it important?

Metadata is cataloging information: title, author, citation information, subject keywords, etc. It is critical to create a metadata record for every submission. These records are added to the Digital Library search system and are distributed to other libraries and research centers to add to their catalogs. In addition, Google Scholar and other search engines will need to know the keywords and descriptions of your submission in order to assist individuals who are searching for your work.

Top

What about preservation? How long will the files in the Flinders Academic Commons last?

The University has made a commitment to preserving the files deposited in the FAC. Persistent addresses are created(a handle – e.g., http://hdl.handle.net/1808/126) that will not change or break the way regular URLs do. They will be enduring citations. Depending on the file format, we may be able to preserve the full functioning of a file ( Supported formats) or we may be able to preserve only the bits (Known or Unsupported formats – usually created with proprietary software). We are continuing to grow and will accept more and more formats as the archive expands.

Top