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Constellation at BenU: FAQ

What is Constellation?

Constellation logoConstellation at BenU is Benedictine University’s institutional repository. The repository is designed to bring together and provide open access to unique scholarly and creative works produced by Benedictine University faculty and students. Authors will receive increased visibility while raising the profile of the University.

Maintained by the Benedictine University Archives & Special Collections, Constellation at BenU is part of Constellation, a collaborative digital repository that contains collections from private colleges and universities in the Chicago area.

Who can contribute content?

Current Benedictine University faculty, students, and campus units are eligible to deposit content in Constellation at BenU.

How can I contribute content?

Faculty

For each work, complete the submission form. Email your file(s) and a scanned copy of your signed submission form to the University Archives at archives@ben.edu. Alternatively, deliver a print copy of the form to the University Archives in Kindlon Hall 029.

Students

We encourage you to ask your academic department about opportunities to contribute work to Constellation at BenU.

Departments, Centers, Units

Colleges, schools, departments, centers, institutes, and other campus units can partner with the University Archives to contribute unit-level content. We are currently seeking partnerships with units that collect theses, dissertations, symposium presentations, posters, capstone projects, conference proceedings, and campus publications. Campus units may select an individual from within their unit who, following training from University Archives staff, will be authorized to manage submissions. Interested campus units should contact archives@ben.edu.

What can I submit?

Accepted Content Types

Individuals and units may submit scholarly or creative works for which they are the sole rights holder, or for which they have obtained permission to submit from all co-authors. Constellation accepts all types of content, including text, images, video, and audio. Possible content types include, but are not limited to:

  • Journal articles
  • Working papers
  • Conference papers
  • Posters
  • Slide presentations
  • Theses and dissertations
  • Datasets
  • Images
  • Conference proceedings
  • Campus publications

Supported File Formats

Constellation is built on DSpace, which can accept a wide range of file formats. However, some formats are better suited to long term preservation than others. The chart below lists the file formats currently supported by DSpace and the level at which they are supported. The levels of support are:

  • Supported – the format is recognized and fully supported. These formats are preferred for items submitted to Constellation as they are best suited to long term preservation.
  • Known – the format is recognized, but will likely need to be migrated to a supported format for long term preservation.
  • Unsupported/Unknown – the format is not recognized or supported. We can preserve the bitstream of these files, but cannot guarantee long term readability.

MIME type

Description

Extensions

Level of Support

application/marc

MARC

.marc, .mrc

Supported

application/mathematica

Mathematica

.ma

Known

application/msword

Microsoft Word

.doc

Known

application/octet-stream

Unknown

(anything not listed)

Unsupported

application/pdf

Adobe PDF

.pdf

Supported

application/postscript

Postscript

.ps, .eps, .ai

Supported

application/sgml

SGML

.sgm, .sgml

Known

application/vnd.ms-powerpoint

Microsoft Powerpoint

.ppt

Known

application/vnd.visio

Microsoft Visio

.vsd

Known

application/wordperfect5.1

WordPerfect

.wpd

Known

application/x-dvi

TeXdvi

.dvi

Known

application/x-filemaker

FMP3

.fm

Known

application/x-latex

LateX

.latex

Known

application/x-photoshop

Photoshop

.psd, .pdd

Known

application/x-tex

TeX

.tex

Known

audio/x-aiff

AIFF

.aiff, .aif, .aifc

Supported

audio/basic

Audio/basic

.au, .snd

Known

audio/x-mpeg

MPEG Audio

.mpa, .abs, .mpeg

Supported

audio/x-pn-realaudio

RealAudio

.ra, .ram

Known

audio/x-wav

WAV

.wav

Supported

image/gif

GIF

.gif

Supported

image/jpeg

JPEG

.jpeg, .jpg

Supported

image/png

PNG

.png

Supported

image/tiff

TIFF

.tiff, .tif

Supported

image/x-ms-bmp

BMP

.bmp

Known

image/x-photo-cd

Photo CD

.pcd

Known

text/html

HTML

.html, .htm

Supported

text/plain

Plain text

.txt

Supported

text/richtext

Rich Text Format

.rtf

Supported

text/xml

XML

.xml

Supported

video/mpeg

MPEG

.mpeg, .mpg, .mpe

Supported

video/quicktime

Video Quicktime

.mov, .qt

Known

text/x-sas-syntax

SAS Syntax File

.sas

Supported

application/x-sas-system

SAS System File

.sas7bdat, .sd1, .sd2, .sd7, .ssd01, .ssd, .ssd04

Known

application/x-sas-transport

SAS Transport File

.xpt, .cport, .v5x, .v6x, .v7x

Known

text/spss-syntax

SPSS Syntax File

.sps

Supported

application/x-spss-sav

SPSS system file

.sav

Known

application/x-spss-sav

SPSS portable file

.por

Known

text/x-stata-syntax

Stata Syntax file

.do

Supported

application/x-stata

Stata Binary files

.dta

Known

text/x-r-syntax

R syntax file

.r, .R

Supported

application/x-rlang-transport

R binary file

.Rdata, .rdata

Known

text/x-fixed-field

Fixed field text data

.dat, .asc

Supported

text/csv

Comma separated values

.csv

Supported

text/tab-separated-values

Tab separated values

.tab

Supported

What are the conditions for submission?

General

Authors retain ownership of copyright to works submitted to Constellation. By signing the license agreement, authors acknowledge that they have the authority to submit the work and that the work does not infringe upon anyone else’s copyright. Works published in Constellation will be available for free to the general public via the internet.

Non-Exclusive License Agreement

Purpose

Constellation is a digital repository (“repository”) intended to increase the visibility and availability of academic and scholarly work created by students, faculty and staff of Benedictine University, and others who may participate in the institution’s academic activities. I authorize Benedictine University to deposit a digital copy of the above work, in accordance with the terms of the license below, in the repository. I understand that I (and all co-authors) retain copyright for all items contributed to the repository (subject to the terms below) and that I am granting to Benedictine University a LIMITED, NON-EXCLUSIVE, IRREVOCABLE AND PERPETUAL LICENSE to make this work available worldwide and to migrate the item (i.e., copy it) for preservation purposes.

Non-Exclusive Distribution License

To properly administer the repository and preserve the contents for future use, Benedictine University requires certain permissions from you, the author(s) or copyright owner(s). By accepting this license, you still retain copyright to your work. You do not give up the right to submit the work to publishers or other repositories.

By accepting this license, you grant Benedictine University the non-exclusive right, for an unlimited period of time, to reproduce, translate (as defined below), and/or distribute your submission (including the metadata and abstract) worldwide, in any format or medium (including without limitation print, electronic, audio and video) for non-commercial, academic purposes only.

Benedictine University will clearly identify your name(s) as the author(s) or owner(s) of the submission, including a statement of your copyright, and will not make any alteration, other than as allowed by this license, to your submission.

You agree that Benedictine University may, without changing the content, translate the submission to any medium or format, and keep more than one copy of this submission, for the purposes of security, back-up and preservation.

You represent that the submission is your original work, and that you have the right to grant the rights contained in this license. You also represent that your submission does not, to the best of your knowledge, infringe upon anyone's copyright. You also represent and warrant that the submission contains no libelous or other unlawful matter and makes no improper invasion of the privacy of any other person.

If the submission contains material for which you do not hold copyright and that exceeds fair use, you represent that you have obtained the unrestricted permission of the copyright owner to grant Benedictine University the rights required by this license, and that such third-party owned material is clearly identified and acknowledged within the text or content of the submission.

If the submission is based upon work that has been sponsored or supported by an agency or organization other than Benedictine University (or by any other individual), you represent that you have fulfilled any right of review or other obligations required by any contract or agreement between you and such other agency, organization or individual.

What about author rights?

No transfer of rights

Constellation at BenU’s license does not limit author rights in any way. Authors grant to the University, on an item-by-item basis, a non-exclusive license to distribute submitted works freely. Authors retain ownership of copyright in the works they submit.

Copyright

Works submitted to the repository are subject to the University’s policies, including, but not limited to, the Copyright Policy. Please consider the copyright status of your work prior to submitting. In general, there are three possible scenarios:

  1. If you retain full copyright to the work, you should be able to submit it to Constellation.
  2. If you share the copyright with other authors, please make sure they approve of the work being archived and made available online through Constellation.
  3. If a publisher owns some or all rights to the work, please refer to the publisher’s copyright policies to determine whether or not, and in what form, the work may be published in an institutional repository. For example, many publishers allow post-prints to be submitted to an institutional repository but not the publisher’s PDF version. The SHERPA/RoMEO website provides access to the general publication terms of many publishers. If the publisher’s policies are not available there, refer to the publisher’s website or contact the publisher.

How can I use content I find in Constellation?

End users, including the general public, have the right to download and use the work published in Constellation at BenU for non-commercial, academic purposes. Users are responsible for providing proper attribution and citation.

Can I withdraw content?

Constellation is intended to provide long-term, permanent access to submissions. Withdrawing items is discouraged. There may be times, however, when it is necessary to remove items for various reasons, including, but not limited to, copyright infringement, inaccuracy or plagiarism. When an item is removed, the item’s description remains as a placeholder. A brief statement, such as “removed from view at request of author” is added to the description.

How is content in the repository preserved?

The DSpace server will be maintained and backed up according to North Central College’s procedures and schedules.

Contact Us

For further information, please contact the Benedictine University Archives & Special Collections at archives@ben.edu.

Lisle

Kindlon Hall
5700 College Rd.
Lisle, IL 60532
(630) 829-6050

Mesa

Gillett Hall
225 E. Main St.
Mesa, AZ 85201
(480) 878-7514