Info about ...

- Policy -

1   Objectives and Criteria for Content of the Document and Publication Server of Humboldt-Universität

The Document and Publication Server⁰ offers the organisational and technical framework to all members of Humboldt-Universität for publishing scientific documents digitally. In course of this joint services offered by the Computer and Media Services and the University Library scientific documents of high importance are being published on the internet under strict quality control.

The edoc-Server represents the technological base for implementing the ideas formulated within the Open Access policy of Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin.

The digital documents are provided with persistent identifiers and addresses, and are indexed within national and international library catalogues, search engines, and other reference tools. The document and publication server provides protection against distortion by using digital signatures and digital time stamps. Furthermore, long-time preservation of digital publications is guaranteed.

Operation and development of the document and publication server are integrated into national and international initiatives and projects like the DINI-Netzwerk¹, the »Confederation of Open Access Repositories« (COAR)², the »Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations« (NDLTD)³ or the »Open Archives Initiative« (OAI)⁴.

2   The Collection Mandate of Humboldt-Universität Library for Digital Documents

The collection mandate of Humboldt-Universität Library consists of collecting, cataloguing, and archiving all the scientific documents published by the members of Humboldt-Universität. It refers to digitally born documents as well as digital versions of printed documents.

Also included are significant historic documents from the University Library and other institutions that are digitised due to terms of content, conservatory aspects, or the requirements of place-independent use.

Intellectual property rights will be preserved. Publishing the document with the publication and document server does not prevent publication elsewhere, like scientific journals or other document servers. According to the recommendations of the German Science Council (Wissenschaftsrat) all scientists of Humboldt-Universität are asked to secure further rights of use when negotiating with publishers. Later, maybe after a certain qualifying period, they will be asked to also publish their documents with the Humboldt-Universität Document Server.⁵

Observation of copyrights and rights of use for third parties are solely with the authors or the editors of the digital documents.

3   Digital Documents

The term »digital document« as used here is defined as a document based on text and images, that is stored in digital form on a data medium, and that is distributed via computer networks. In the future this term will be extended toward multimedia documents that include audio and video sequences as well as scientific data.

A document to be published with the document and publication server should meet the following requirements:

1. It is to be distributed for the public.

2. It is not a dynamic document. With any changes in the document a new version will be stored.

3. It fulfils the technical parameters given by the Computer and Media Services and the University Library of Humboldt-Universität.

4   Digital Documents to be published and distributed by the Document and Publication Server

1. The following categories of digital documents will be stored and distributed:

   1. Single publications and publication series of Humboldt-Universität with scientific content, as the public lectures of Humboldt-Universität or the publication series of the University Library,

   2. Single publications and publication series published by staff of Humboldt-Universität, i.e. collections, conference papers, research reports, journals (e-journals),

   3. Documents that are mandatory to be published according to examination rules and regulations (theses and dissertations),

   4. Single publications and publication series of institutions and persons associated with Humboldt-Universität,

   5. Documents of Humboldt-Universität students like master theses and seminar papers, should those be recommended by a lecturer.

   6. f. Open Access secondary publications of previously published articles or publications, so called postprints, or preprints of scientific publications, that are intended to be publishes elsewhere.
2. Distribution of these documents can be restricted to local or temporary use only.

5   Technical Characteristics of the Document and Publication Server

1. By providing and proving qualified digital signatures the digital documents receive a legally valid certificate of authenticity. The assignment of these qualified digital signature occur in full accordance with the German Digital Signatures Law (Signaturgesetz - SigG).

2. The digital documents are provided with individual and persistent addresses. This enables direct access to the document.

3. Retrieving the digital documents is possible via library catalogues, queries of the bibliographical metadata, search terms within the structures of the digital documents, via alphabetical and indexing systems, and via dynamically produced lists and indexes.

4. For indexing, storage and archiving of the digital documents international standards like the guidelines of the Open Archives Initiative (OAI) are employed and developed.

5. For all documents an availability of 5 years via the edoc-server is guaranteed.

6. When using PDF/A an archival time span of 5 years ist guaranteed. When using SGML/XML an archiving time span of 50 years is guaranteed. Preserving other formats depends on the availability of these formats, their viewer software, and their conversion tools.

6   Organisational Regulations

1. The document and publication server of Humboldt-Universität is a joint operation of the Computer and Media Services and the University Library.

2. The electronic publication is free of charge for Humboldt-Universität staff and members of associated institutions.

3. Submitting the digital documents for distribution via the Humboldt-Universität document server takes place in the University Library.

4. Additional services that are necessary for publication, like processing digital documents or conversion into other formats, are conducted by staff of the Computer and Media Services or the University Library.⁶ Services that need significant additional work will be charged.

5. Contact for all questions about the Document and Publication Server is the joint »Electronic Publishing Group« of the Computer and Media Services and the University Library:

   Humboldt-Universität Berlin
   Electronic Publishing Group
   Niels Fromm (Head)
   Unter den Linden 6
   10099 Berlin/Germany

   phone: +49 30 2093-70070
   e-mail: edoc@cms.hu-berlin.de

⁰ http://edoc.hu-berlin.de/
¹ http://www.dini.de/
² http://coar-repositories.org/
³ http://www.ndltd.org/
⁴ http://www.openarchives.org/
⁵ Empfehlungen zur digitalen Informationsversorgung durch Hochschulbibliotheken. Hrsg. v. Wissenschaftsrat, Greifswald 13. Juli 2001, http://www.wissenschaftsrat.de/texte/4935-01.pdf (10.12.2001), S. 26
⁶ For instructions and descriptions see http://edoc.hu-berlin.de/Autoreninfos.
⁷ http://creativecommons.org/about/what-is-cc