Publishing

What is Gutenberg Open Science?

Gutenberg Open Science is the repository for Open Access publications and open research data at Johannes Gutenberg University.

What does Open Access mean and why should I publish on Gutenberg Open Science?

Open Access describes the goal of making knowledge and information in digital form accessible and reusable without financial, technical or legal barriers. Open Access publications are publications that are publicly accessible on the Internet and can be read, downloaded and reproduced in full text without restriction and at no cost to the user. This improves the supply of information and the transfer of knowledge.

If you publish Open Access:

  • your research results are incorporated directly into the further research process and into the scientific discussion.
  • you increase the visibility of your publication.
  • you will be quoted more often.

The JGU OA-Policy therefore urges its scientists and scholars to make ample use of Open Access.

Who can publish in Gutenberg Open Science?

Publications by members of the JGU can be included.

Which publications can be included in Gutenberg Open Science?

Suitable publication formats are, for example:

  • Monographs
  • Edited volumes
  • Doctoral theses
  • Habilitation theses
  • Journal articles
  • Book chapters
  • Conference contributions (but no presentation slides or posters)
  • Research reports/Working papers
  • Published research data

Master's theses can be accepted into Gutenberg Open Science in exceptional cases and on special recommendation of the supervisors. We do not publish bachelor or term papers.

Which requirements must my publication meet?

The following requirements must be met to be published on Gutenberg Open Science:

  • The work is complete and corresponds in its external form to the standards common for scientific publications.
  • The work meets the generally recognised scientific quality criteria.
  • The author assures that no rights of third parties are violated by the publication and assumes liability for the content of the document in case of an infringement.
  • The intellectual property of others is identified as such. Received ideas and quotations are identified as such.
  • In the case of illustrations, representations and tables from external media, the author must have the consent of the copyright holder for publication.
  • On the basis of the specified licenses, the author determines that the publication may be made freely available on a permanent basis.

Information on good scientific practice can be found on the pages of the project Academic Integrity or in the DFG recommendations (each in PDF format).

If you have any questions regarding the publication of dissertations and habilitation theses, please contact us via e-mail: publikationssysteme@ub.uni-mainz.de

Which file formats are supported and what is the maximum filesize for a single uploaded file?

If you publish in the Collection "JGU Publications", then the main file of the publication must always be uploaded in PDF format. If the system does not automatically detect the format of the file you uploaded, a yellow/orange exclamation mark will appear next to the status. Then please click on "Next". In the following window you will get the information "File Format: Unknown (unsupported)"; please click on "Change Format" on the right side. Here you can now select from the dropdown menu either the appropriate format or the software with which the file was created. If the format/software does not appear in the list, please describe the file format in the "File Format" field to the right. Enter the name and version of the application used to create the file, e.g. MyApplication version 1.5.

For more information about file formats, see Gutenberg Open Science Supported Formats. Please note, that the maximum filesize for a single uploaded file is 4 GB. If one of your files is larger, please contact us beforehand.

What are checksums in the upload process?

Gutenberg Open Science generates an MD5 checksum for every file it stores; we use this checksum internally to verify the integrity of files over time (a file's checksum shouldn't change). You can use this checksum to be sure what we've received is indeed the file you've uploaded.

If you wish to verify the file using checksums, click "Show checksums" on the "Uploaded file" page. The Gutenberg Open Science-generated MD5 checksum for every file we've received from you will show to the right of the filename. You will then need to use a local program to generate your own checksum for these files, and verify that your results match ours. On most UNIX-like systems (including Mac OS X), use md5sum. For instance, type "md5sum MYFILE" for every file you want to check; the summary should print on your screen. For Windows machines, MD5 tools are freely available: try md5 (from http://www.fourmilab.ch/md5/), or md5sum, available via the textutils package in Cygwin (http://www.cygwin.com/). All of these utilities will need to be run from a command-line, or terminal, window. The entire digest printed out when you run the md5 tool on your local copy of the file you're uploading should be exactly equal to what Gutenberg Open Science reports.

What does the university library do and are there costs involved?

For a publication on Gutenberg Open Science the following services are provided by the University Library:

  • Revision and enrichment of the metadata according to recognized standards.
  • Allocation of permanent Internet addresses (DOI and URN).
  • Secure storage (and availability) for a period of at least 10 years, guaranteed by the technical operator of the server.
  • Provision of the document and metadata for research and download.
  • Transfer of metadata to scientific search services via technical interfaces.
  • Advice on all related issues.

These services are free of charge for authors.

What does "content indexing" on Gutenberg Open Science mean?

A description of the content is created for all documents. The following options are available:

  • Abstract of each document in German and/or other languages.
  • Subject assignment of the document according to the classes of the DDC classification.

The description of the content is done in the input form by the authors, it is not edited by the University Library.

What do I have to do to publish my publications?

Please follow these steps:

  • You can find the Gutenberg Open Science repository at https://openscience.ub.uni-mainz.de/.
  • Go to the "Publish" link there.
  • Log in with your university account.
  • Click on the button "Start a New Publication" and select the collection "Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz > JGU-Publikationen".
  • On the following pages you can describe and upload your publication step by step.

After the publishing process is complete, you will receive an email with the license agreement. You have the following options:

  • Deposit License: involved persons, except co-authors, are not named and names must be deleted in advance in the electronic version. For journal articles only the signature of the submitting author is required.
  • Print the license agreement and then send us the signed license.
  • Please enter your current e-mail address. Check your mailbox regularly until the end of the procedure so that you can respond quickly to any queries.

How long will my publication be available online?

All publications and research data are made available online on Gutenberg Open Science for a period of at least 10 years. In addition, long-term archiving is provided in cooperation with the German National Library (DNB). This service is free of charge for you. Your consent to the storage of data by the DNB and to any necessary technical data migrations is granted with the Deposit License. You will find more detailed information on this on the page Rights=Notices and Licenses.

Can a publication that has already been published be blocked or deleted?

Once published and released, documents can only be blocked or deleted in exceptional cases (especially in the case of legal obstacles). The corresponding blocking form can be downloaded here. Any costs incurred for the deletion are to be borne by the authors.

Please note: A publication on the Internet can not be completely undone. The texts may already be downloaded and saved by other users.

Can the publication of a dissertation be postponed to a later date?

You can submit a "Request for the Deferred Publication of a Dissertation". Fill out the form (download here) and have it signed by the supervisor and the dean. Please upload your dissertation to Gutenberg Open Science and enter in the "Your message" field that the work should be locked and for how long. We will archive your work in a secure area. Submit the two printed copies, the required licenses, and the request at the same time.

Please note: The extension of the deadline must be reported at least 4 weeks before expiration, otherwise the dissertation will be automatically released!

What if I want to publish a revised version of my publication or my data?

A revised version of an already published document is made available as a separate publication on Gutenberg Open Science.

How is Gutenberg Open Science technically implemented?

The technical implementation of Gutenberg Open Science is based on DSpace, an internationally distributed open source software for publication and data repositories.