Repository Policies

Introduction

Staff and students depositing their work in the repository are reminded that this policy document has been written in addition to the existing University of Lincoln Regulations and covers the use and management of the Institutional Repository.


Copyright and Use Notice

The University of Lincoln's Institutional Repository provides immediate and free worldwide access to the University's research and teaching and learning output. The repository is not a publisher but merely an online archive for deposited items. Depositing an item in the repository does not change or affect the original Intellectual Property Rights or Copyright of the work. Deposit in the repository is by non-exclusive agreement and the author is free to publish any version of the work elsewhere. Deposit in the repository makes the work available to to a wide variety of individuals and institutions, including automated online search engines. Therefore a citation of the work will always remain visible.


Policy Notice

Metadata Policy for information describing items in the repository
  1. Anyone may access the metadata free of charge.
  2. The metadata may be re-used in any medium without prior permission for not-for-profit purposes and re-sold commercially provided the OAI Identifier or a link to the original metadata record are given.
Data Policy for full-text and other full data items
  1. Anyone may access full items free of charge.
  2. Copies of full items generally can be:
    1. reproduced, displayed or performed, and given to third parties in any format or medium.
    2. for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-profit purposes without prior permission or charge.

    provided:
    1. the authors, title and full bibliographic details are given
    2. a hyperlink and/or URL are given for the original metadata page
    3. the content is not changed in any way

  3. Full items must not be sold commercially in any format or medium without formal permission of the copyright holders.
  4. Some full items are individually tagged with different rights permissions and conditions.
  5. This repository is not the publisher; it is merely the online archive.
  6. Mention of the repository is appreciated but not mandatory.
Content Policy for types of document & data set held
  1. This is an institutional repository.
  2. The repository holds all types of materials.
  3. Papers are individually tagged with their peer-review and publication status.
Submission Policy concerning depositors, quality & copyright
  1. Items may only be deposited by members of the organisation.
  2. Authors may only submit approved academic work for archiving.
  3. The administrator only vets items for the eligibility of authors/depositors, relevance to the scope of the repository, valid layout & format, and the exclusion of spam
  4. The validity and authenticity of the content of submissions is the sole responsibility of the depositor.
  5. Items can be deposited at any time, but will not be made publicly visible until any publishers' or funders' embargo period has expired.
  6. Any copyright violations are entirely the responsibility of the authors/depositors.
  7. If the repository receives proof of copyright violation, the relevant item will be removed immediately.
Preservation Policy
  1. Items will be retained indefinitely.
  2. The repository will try to ensure continued readability and accessibility.
    1. Items will be migrated to new file formats where necessary.
    2. Where possible, software emulations will be provided to access un-migrated formats.
    3. It may not be possible to guarantee the readability of some unusual file formats.

  3. The repository regularly backs up its files according to current best practice.
  4. The original bit stream is retained for all items, in addition to any upgraded formats.
  5. Items may not normally be removed from the repository.
  6. Acceptable reasons for withdrawal include:
    1. Proven copyright violation or plagiarism
    2. Legal requirements and proven violations
    3. National Security
    4. Falsified research

  7. Withdrawn items' identifiers/URLs are retained indefinitely.
  8. URLs will continue to point to 'old' citations, to avoid broken links and to retain item histories.
  9. Changes to deposited items are not permitted.
  10. Errata and corrigenda lists may be included with the original record if required.
  11. If necessary, an updated version may be deposited.
  12. In the event of the repository being closed down, the University will endeavour to transfer the database to another appropriate archive.

Privacy Policy

Your personal information

The University of Lincoln collects personal information about you when you submit your research data and information to the University repository - ePrints. We use this information to keep a public record of all research carried out at the institution and so you University staff with administrative access can contact you about your research. This notice explains more about how we use your personal information.

  • What information we collect about you
  • How we use your information
  • Information we may share with other organisations
  • How long we keep your information
  • Accessing your information and other rights
  • How to object or withdraw consent
  • How to contact us

How to complain

What information we collect about you

We collect information about you when you submit your research on the University repository system ePrints.

Keep your details up to date by emailing eprints@lincoln.ac.uk

How we use your information

Your email address and University Identification Number are visible to University of Lincoln members of staff with administration access to the e-Prints system. Your name and research data including, but not limited to, papers, audio, articles and books is in the public domain. This information can be accessed by other individuals, websites or platforms which search the repository.

The University occasionally uses cookies and other technologies on its website that collect data about you when you use them. Where this occurs further information will be available in a cookies policy. The cookies policy for the University website can be found here: http://www.lincoln.ac.uk/home/termsconditions.

Information we may share with other organisations

It is necessary, to support the administration of the programme, to share your data outside of the Unversity. The organisations your data is shared with are listed below:

  • Southampton University
    Occasionally Southampton University will access the system to perform maintenance. We use a number of suppliers who process personal information on our behalf. These include suppliers of software services. These act strictly on our instructions and must not use the information for their own purposes.

In exceptional circumstances we may be asked to share your information with police or other investigators if it would prevent or detect crime or safeguard a persons wellbeing. Each instance will be judged on its own merit and any sharing of information will be done within the law.

How long we keep your information

Data will not be removed from the system in order to capture an historical record of all research activity.

If you access additional University services these may keep a record of your contact and will provide you with details of how long they keep your information.

Accessing your information and other rights

You have a number of rights relating to your personal information. These include:

  • Access
    You have the right to request a copy of any personal information we hold about you.

If you would like a copy of any of your information please contact the Information Compliance team on the details below. The team will process your request within a month.

Portability

If you have provided information on the basis of your consent or for a contract then you can request a digital copy so you can send it to another organisation.

To request a copy please contact the Information Compliance team on the details below. The team will process your request within a month.

Correction

If any of the information we hold about you is incorrect or incomplete then please let us know. You have the right to have your information corrected so that we hold accurate records about you.

Erasure

This is also known as the right to be forgotten. You can request that your personal information is erased if it is no longer necessary for the University to keep it, or you withdraw consent that you have previously provided, or you object and there is no overriding grounds to keep it or if it is unlawful to continue to keep it.

Restriction

You can request that the use of your personal information is limited to storage only and that we use it for no other purpose. This applies where you contest the accuracy of the personal information we hold, or our use of the information is unlawful, or we no longer need the information except in relation to legal claims, or you object to the use of your data and we need to verify whether or not our purpose for keeping it overrides the grounds of your objection.

The Information Compliance team can be contacted by email on compliance@lincoln.ac.uk or by post at:
Information Compliance
Secretariat
University of Lincoln
Brayford Pool
Lincoln
LN6 7TS

How to object or withdraw consent

If you object to our use of your personal information then we must stop unless we can demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds for continuing. Please contact eprints@lincoln.ac.uk and explain your objection.

If you have provided your consent for the use of your personal information then you can withdraw this consent at any time.

How to contact us

For general enquiries please call 01522 88 2000 or write to:
University of Lincoln
Brayford Pool
Lincoln
LN6 7TS

You can find contact details for individual teams and staff by visiting http://staff.lincoln.ac.uk.

If you have a query about your personal information rights then please contact the Information Compliance team by email on compliance@lincoln.ac.uk or by post at:
Information Compliance
Secretariat
University of Lincoln
Brayford Pool
Lincoln
LN6 7TS

How to complain

If you feel that we have let you down in relation to your information rights then please contact the Information Compliance team by email on compliance@lincoln.ac.uk or by post at:
Information Compliance
Secretariat
University of Lincoln
Brayford Pool
Lincoln
LN6 7TS

You can also make complaints directly to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO). The ICO is the independent authority upholding information rights for the UK. Their website is ico.org.uk and their telephone helpline number is 0303 123 1113.