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Scientific Writing - The Library and Getting Published: SUNY Open Access Repository

About SOAR

In 2018, the SUNY Chancellor issued a memorandum charging all SUNY campuses with the development of two items:

  • An Open Access(OA) policy.
  • A scholarly repository to store any works created under open access.

The combination of the OA policy and supporting repository looks to improve access to SUNY produced works.This increased access to SUNY-produced work serves to:

  • Increase visibility and discoverability.
  • Increase citation rates.
  • Provide a persistent access point for works.
  • Remove paywall barriers for users who want to reference SUNY works in their own research.

Downstate adopted its open access policy in 2020.

SOAR, the SUNY Open Access Repository, was created in response to the Chancellor's charge of 2018. It is a SUNY-wide, centrally-managed resource. Its purpose is to allow the self-archiving of creative works by SUNY faculty, staff, and students.

Items deposited in the repository adhere to any embargo periods or licensing limitations from publishers. The repository contents are discoverable via internet search engines and Google Scholar. In the future, the contents of SOAR will also be discoverable through searches in the Library's discovery system/online catalog.

The Downstate Library is facilitating the archiving process for the campus.

Which version of a manuscript can I submit?

More than 80% of well-established publishers and journals allow a version of a manuscript to be self-archived on an author's website or a repository. 

There are 3 typical versions of manuscripts:

  • Submitted version (preprint)
  • Accepted version (postprint)
  • Version of record (published version)

The journal and/or publisher agreement dictates which version of the article may be self-archived in an institutional repository and if any embargo is required.

If you do not have this information, you may look it up in JISC Open Policy Finder. This is a free online service that aggregates and presents publisher and journal open access policies from around the world.

After locating the entry for the journal needed, look for the "pathway" for open access in an institutional repository.  It will indicate which version may be archived (accepted, submitted or version of record) and under what terms a work may be made openly accessible. The accepted manuscript is most commonly the version that may be archived, and it is not unusual for a journal to require that a link to the version of record on the publishers' web site be provided.  

Detailed information is available in a comprehensive Help guide.

Authors are responsible for knowing their rights under the publishing agreement with the journal.

If you need further assistance with determining acceptable manuscript versions, contact the Library at reference@downstate.edu

Questions? Comments?

Feel free to contact me with any questions or comments you may have:

Gregg Headrick

gregg.headrick@downstate.edu