Frequently Asked Questions


What is an IRLy Adopter and how do I become one?

An IRLy Adopter is a member of the UMSL community who wishes to have their work preserved and shared in the Institutional Repository Library. To become an IRLy adopter please fill out the IRLy Adopter Survey.

{ top }

What is SelectedWorks? Why do I want a SelectedWorks Profile?

SelectedWorks is a part of IRL, a gateway service which acts as a research announcement tool designed to maximize the readership and impact of an author’s works. SelectedWorks is a great showcase for peer-reviewed articles, and is ideal for multimedia content, books, gray literature, editorials, conference presentations, supplemental content, datasets, and anything else authors would like to share. Create a SelectedWorks page.

{ top }

Can I post a reprint from a journal?

It depends on what the journal allows, which is usually specified in their agreement with the author. If it would not violate copyright to post the reprint on your repository site, you're welcome to do so. Permissions for many publishers can be found at SHERPA RoMEO.

{ top }

I don't have electronic versions of old working papers that I'd like to include in the repository. Is it okay to scan the printed page to a PDF file?

Yes--scanning printed pages is a great way to create PDF files for inclusion in the repository. There are two ways to scan a page: using OCR (Optical Character Recognition) or scanning the page as an image. Making OCR scans requires careful proofreading and loses the original formatting of the documents. Image scans cannot be searched. The best solution takes advantage of both of these methods. Many software applications allow for the OCR capture of image scans. When documents are scanned this way, users see the image scan but search the full-text of the document. This is the preferred method for scanning documents for the repository.

{ top }

How can I submit a multi-part file, such as multiple chapters for a book?

Combine all the sections together as one Microsoft Word file or PDF file and submit that.

To make one PDF file from multiple files, open the first PDF file, then choose Document>Insert Pages from Acrobat's menus to insert the second file (indicate it should go after the last page of the first file), and repeat for all documents. The result will be one compound PDF file which may then be submitted.

{ top }

A working paper in IRL has been published in a slightly revised form in a journal. What should I do?

Many journals do not have any restrictions on working papers that preceded an article, especially if substantial revisions were made. You should check your author agreement with the journal to confirm that there is no problem with leaving the working paper on the site. The repository would constitute noncommercial use.

Assuming the working paper does remain on posted in the repository, it is a good idea to include the citation to the published article on the cover page of the repository working paper. Please contact the repository administrator to request this change.

{ top }