Frequently Asked Repository Questions
Do I have to participate?
The mission of WHOAS is to capture, preserve, and communicate the intellectual output of the Woods Hole scientific community. Your participation is paramount.
Why should I participate?
The value of your work is fully realized when it can be shared with others. Your contributions to WHOAS assure continued, open, and widespread access to your work.
How long will content be retained?
"Forever" is a long time, but libraries have lots of experience when it comes to preservation. It is our intent to maintain your contributions in perpetuity.
Can contributions to WHOAS be withdrawn?
Once placed in WHOAS, it is not customary to remove content, however, in special circumstances, access to the content may be limited.
Does placing content in WHOAS count as "published"?
Generally, meeting the quality standards of peer review and acceptance for publication by a peer-reviewed journal, counts as publication.
Will my publishers permit me to put content into WHOAS?
If you are an employee (includes students) of WHOI, you are included in WHOI's Open Access policy and can opt-in to post your accepted (post peer-review) manuscripts in WHOAS.
Non-WHOI authors can review individual journal policies at Sherpa/RoMEO
In addition, amending copyright transfer agreements for all future publications guarantees your rights to contribute content to WHOAS.
What gets contributed to WHOAS?
Suggestions include scholarly or research oriented work produced, submitted, or sponsored by the Woods Hole scientific community; work that is complete and ready for "publication", articles, books, and book chapters that have already been published, theses/dissertations, conference and workshop presentations, data sets, images, etc., in a variety of formats.
Can I get DOIs for my contributions?
DOIs (digital object indentifiers) may be requested for datasets. The Library also deposits DOIs for WHOI Technical Reports and MIT/WHOI Joint Program theses.
Is content limited by format?
DSpace was selected as the WHOAS platform because it supports a wide range of formats including: PDF, Word, Access, Excel, PowerPoint, LaTeX, XML, HTML, JPEG, GIF, TIFF, and WAV. Open source formats are highly recommended.
Is content limited by file size?
No, though the larger the file, the longer it can take to "intake" (upload) into WHOAS. To make arrangements to load very large files, please contact the WHOAS Project Manager at whoas@whoi.edu or 508-289-2865.
Can my contribution(s) be embargoed?
Content within WHOAS can be embargoed. The decision to embargo and the date for lifting of embargo needs to be established at the time the content is submitted. Embargoes cannot be applied after the content is accepted.
If my joint author(s) placed this content in their institutional repository, should I contribute the same content to WHOAS?
Yes! In that policies, access, and competencies can vary from IR to IR, we request that content you have created as a member of the Woods Hole scientific community reside in WHOAS. Redundancy is an added bonus!
What about previously published materials?
If you have retained, or can secure, the right to do so, contribution of "older" materials is encouraged.
What happens when I depart the Woods Hole scientific community?
It is our intent to maintain your content in perpetuity.
Can I easily link to the content I place in WHOAS from my web page?
Yes! Each digital object in WHOAS is assigned a unique and persistent URL (known as a Handle). Once assigned, the Handle will not change and your links will remain intact.
How do I get started?
As the creator of the content, you need to be willing and able to grant the MBLWHOI Library the right to preserve and distribute your work. You need to manage your copyright and retain the right to contribute pre-prints, post-prints and/or publishers' PDFs in WHOAS for the articles you author. Begin by amending all copyright transfers you have not yet signed.
And remember, if you are an employee (includes students) of WHOI, you are included in WHOI's Open Access policy and can opt-in to post your accepted manuscripts in WHOAS.
Can I get help with the language for amending a copyright transfer agreement?
Yes! Use the Amendment to Publication Agreement as an addendum to all copyright transfer agreements.
Do I have to do the "intake" work myself?
No! Staff of the MBLWHOI Library will ingest your content on your behalf. Or, if you prefer, you and/or your representative can be authorized and trained as content submitters and may input files 24/7.
Is all content submitted guaranteed acceptance into WHOAS?
Not necessarily. For example, if you should submit a publisher's PDF from a journal publisher that restricts such activity, then the submission will be denied. In these cases, you may be encouraged to submit the accepted (post peer-review) manuscript instead.
I still have unanswered questions:
Please contact the WHOAS Project Manager, at whoas@whoi.edu or 508-289-2865.