VTechWorks

If you would like to deposit an item you authored such as a journal article, conference proceeding, or book chapter, you can use Virginia Tech's open access policy to immediately provide open access to the accepted version, if the item is available only on a subscription/paywalled basis.  If your journal article, conference proceeding, or book chapter was published under a Creative Commons license, you can deposit the published version.

Items such as presentations, posters, and reports can almost always be deposited, because the copyright is owned by you and not transferred to a publisher.

Journal article versions:

• Submitted Version (a.k.a. pre-print): An article final draft, often sent for consideration to a journal, that has not yet been refereed or peer-reviewed.  Most journals accept pre-prints that have already been posted online, but if you have a target journal or journals, be sure that they accept pre-prints before doing so.  Preprints get research results out fast, and sometimes result in useful feedback.
• Accepted Version (a.k.a. post-print, or author's accepted manuscript, AAM): A journal has agreed to publish the article after passing peer review.  The version includes changes made during the peer review process but usually does not have the journal's formatting.  Posting the accepted version is a key way to provide open access to the peer-reviewed version, and they are indexed by Google Scholar and open access tools like Unpaywall.
• Published Version (sometimes known as the version of record, or an offprint, reprint, or proof): An accepted journal article that has been copy-edited, typeset, and formatted for publication.  Typically copyrighted by the publisher/journal and not eligible for deposit, unless issued under a Creative Commons license or the U.S. public domain.

If you are in doubt as to whether you may deposit a work, contact vtechworks@vt.edu for assistance.

For faculty and graduate students, please deposit through the Elements system.  Deposits go into a queue and become public within a few days.  If there is a problem such as copyrighted material or the wrong file attached, VTechWorks staff will contact you.

For staff and undergraduate students, please deposit directly to VTechWorks by registering.

1. Go to the VTechWorks homepage.
2. In the upper right select the Log In drop-down, then select "New user? Click here to register".
3. Enter your email address (which will become your log in name).
4. Create your password.
5. Email vtechworks@vt.edu. Tell us you have registered and to which collection you would like to add materials. If an appropriate collection doesn't already exist, we will create one for you.
6. Receive an email from vtechworks@vt.edu that tells you have successfully registered and the collection(s) you have  permission to add to.

Does a collection exist that is appropriate for your work?

Browse or search until you find it or ask us create a new collection (e.g., for a particular course, lab, conference, project). You can do this when you register, or email vtechworks@vt.edu.

Does your work fit in more than one collection? Let VTechWorks staff know and we'll cross-list it (e.g., Faculty Research/Ann Hertzler and HNFE Research Articles; VCE publication and SGA: Equity and Social Disparity in the Human Condition).

Any scholarly work can be deposited in VTechWorks.

Everyone in the Virginia Tech community is invited to the university's online repository. Just register (see below), tell us what collection your work belongs in, and we will make it happen for you.

Faculty can use Elements (EFARS) to easily deposit their research, scholarship, and creative output in VTechWorks.

Why should you deposit your work in here? To make it accessible now and in the long term. Depositing your work in VTechWorks ensures that it is available to your colleagues now and that will it also be available to future researchers, scholars, and historians.

Consider adding your

• posters, presentations, conference papers
• class papers and research articles
• interviews and oral histories
• department newsletters and strategic plans
• Do you have a question about what to add? Contact vtechworks@vt.edu

See the how-to videos about registering and submitting your work to VTechWorks.

VTechWorks is a largely public repository and we want everyone to be able to access the materials in it.

To help you produce materials that everyone can access, below are some best practices: [Should there be an ACCESSIBILITY tab with more details?]

• Generally
  • Make all text actual text (not an image of text)
  • Give images descriptive text
• MS Word documents
  • Use "styles" to indicate headings (instead of bold characters or larger font), paragraphs, etc.
  • Use built-in column, list, table creators
  • Create Alt Text and add Captions to images, figures, tables and graphs
  • Use "Check Accessibility" under the Review tab
  • Preserve accessibility features by "save as PDF" rather than "print PDF"
• PDF files
  • Add title, subject, author, key words in the "Properties" label under File in the menu bar
  • Convert images of text to text with "Text Recognition" under Tools tab in Adobe Acrobat
  • Select "Action Wizard" under Tools tab in Adobe Acrobat, then "Make Accessible"
• Spreadsheets (e.g., Excel, Calc, etc.)
  • Name each sheet
  • Avoid using merged and blank cells
  • Don't create tables (under Insert tab)
  • Use "Check Accessibility" under the Review tab
• Presentations (e.g., PowerPoint, Keynote, etc.)
  • Use subtle sounds to indicate slide changes
  • Use transitions sparingly
  • Avoid using tables
  • Don't use Text Box; use only predefined placeholders
  • Make sure video and audio files are captioned
  • Use "Check Accessibility" under the Review tab