Digital Scholarship@UNLV (institutional repository)

Spring 2025 update

As of spring 2025, the University Libraries are not accepting proposals for new journals to be hosted on the repository platform. We are currently reviewing our journal proposal process and policies related to hosted journals.

Questions may be directed to digitalscholarship@unlv.edu.

Our institutional repository can publish open access journals!

• View our current list of journals.

Is your journal a good match for the repository platform?

The repository is an open access journal publishing platform and conference paper management system.

Consider the following questions before deciding:

Will the journal be fully open access?

The repository does not host subscription-based journals and does not provide a mechanism for creating print issues.

Do you have the support of your academic or administrative unit?

Colleges, departments, and administrative units are designated the publishers of the journals -rather than individual faculty members or outside organizations. This is to ensure that the journals published at UNLV are sustainable and remain connected to UNLV, even if the faculty member that proposes the journal takes a new position or retires. The Dean of the College (and Department Chair when applicable) will need to sign an MOU with the University Libraries and Provost's office.

Do you have sufficient support and time to manage the journal?

The University Libraries' role is limited in the running of the journal. We host the journal through our ongoing subscription to the Elsevier Digital Commons system.  We assist with communication with Digital Commons and can provide guidance on journal policies (such as author rights, copyright, Creative Commons) and general use of the system, but you will be responsible for managing all aspects of  the journal (from development of the journal to publication of all issues).

Do you have the resources to utilize Digital Commons DOI support?

As of 2022, the platform comes with DOI minting. However, the journals are responsible for working directly with Digital Commons staff to create DOIs (digital object identifiers) and follow standard practices such as including DOIs in article citations. 

Have you reviewed Digital Commons Journal Publishing Services options?

While the library pays the repository platform annual subscription cost, there are value added publishing services provided by Digital Commons, which improve journal preservation and discoverability. These can be expensive and we recommend reviewing options closely before deciding. 

Steps to using the repository to publish your journal

If you have determined that your journal is a good match for the repository (see above), the steps below outline the process for requesting to use the platform and an overview of the steps taken to get the journal set up on the site. 

Contact the Scholarly Communication and Data Services department and/or your liaison librarian and review the journal proposal form.

Staff from the Scholarly Communication and Data Services will request a meeting after the proposal is received if your proposal is your first contact with the library about the journal.

Complete the Journal Proposal Form to get started

The form is temporarily down while we review our procedures and policies for hosting new open access journals.

Scholarly Communication and Data Services will review the proposal and get back to you with any questions. We will do our best to reply within two weeks.

Meet with Scholarly Communication and Data Services.

We will cover topics like open access, the library's minimal role in the operations of the journal, and tips and ideas from other editors, and address any questions from editors.

Scholarly Communication and Data Services will create an MOU for the library, publishing unit, and the Provost to sign.

The MOU template has been vetted by UNLV Counsel and the only changes we make are to the parties involved.  If additional changes are needed, UNLV Counsel will be consulted again. Depending on the publisher (academic or administrative unit responsible for the journal) the MOU will be signed by the Dean of the college or appropriate administrator, department Chair (or administrator), Dean of the University Libraries, and by the Executive Vice President and Provost.

Once the MOU is signed, the editors will complete the Digital Commons journal setup form.

This form gathers basic configuration information for the journal. SCI can help you answer questions on the form as needed, and advise with setting policies (such as copyright) and with communications and introductions to Digital Commons representatives.

Begin working with Digital Commons directly to set up your journal.

The time it will take you to set up the journal in collaboration with Digital Commons will vary from journal to journal based on your journal's requirements. Examples of why journal set up varies by journal include (but are not limited to):

Whether you wish to have a custom design or whether you prefer a look that matches the repository style

• If your journal is transferring from a different platform, Digital Commons may be able to offer advice as to how best to integrate the old site (look and content) with the new site, but will not likely be able to help with the actual transfer of content.
• If the journal was published previously on a Digital Commons platform, additional options for integrating content may be available such as linking between the old site and new site.
• Whether you are adding publication services from Digital Commons (these are paid services that the department or college is responsible for and are not covered by the library's basic subscription to the platform)
• How many journals and other projects the Digital Commons support team is working on at any given time for University Libraries and other journal editors.

Launch your journal!

Share news of your journal's start and initial call for papers with the library. Given enough lead time, we would be happy to help promote your journal through various library social media and announcement channels.

Contact us at digitalscholarship@unlv.edu with any questions.