How to publish on GEO-LEOe-docs - submission hints

Before you publish a document online, you should clarify whether you are entitled to do so.
  1. If you are not the sole author, you must obtain the consent of all other contributors.
  2. If you use images or graphics of others, you should check whether they are protected by copyright or obtain permission before publishing them. Images and graphics of others in scientific works may also fall under the right of citation. This is usually the case if they serve scientific purposes (i.e. are relevant to the content and not merely illustrative), and are provided with a correct citation.
  3. If the work has already been published, you may have transferred all exploitation rights (copyright) to a publisher.
    • For journal articles, Scherpa/Romeo provides a quick overview of the conditions under which a scientific journal allows secondary publication (self-archiving).
    • The following applies in general: If the journal is restrictive, make use of your right of secondary publication (Section 38 (4) UrhG). This is inalienable, and thus remains unaffected by contractual agreements. It refers to the online publication of the manuscript version (postprint) of scientific articles published in periodicals. You may post your article on a repository of your choice, subject to the one-year embargo period after the first publication. You may not grant open access licences, such as the CC licences, in this case, as these also cover printed works, whereas Section 38 (4) UrhG only covers online publication. The secondary publication right is applicable if you (or a co-author) have EU or EEA citizenship or are treated as such; also if the place of publication is in Germany.
      (See also: FID GEO aktuell: Zweitveröffentlichung von geowissenschaftlichen Verlagspublikationen, GMIT 84, pp. 25-27, 2021, DOI 10.23689/fidgeo-5308)
    • In the case of books or book chapters etc., it is advisable to enquire with the publisher.

Deposit Licence

Consider which licence of use you wish to grant. The following options are available:
GEO-LEOe-docs deposit licence
The GEO-LEOe-docs deposit licence is obligatory. With this licence you grant the SUB Göttingen a simple (=non-exclusive) right to store, publish and format-transform the document. Users may then read, download, store and print a small number of copies of your work. The GEO-LEOe-docs deposit licence is compatible with the use of the secondary publication right (Section 38 (4) UrhG). With this licence, the rights to further use and publish the work remain with the authors.
Open Access licences
An Open Access publication in the narrower sense also includes the release for further dissemination. The document may then be made available for download by other providers or made available in other ways.
To publish your work Open Access, you can use the Creative Commons (CC) licences. GEO-LEOe-docs recommends the use of the CC-BY licence. This permits all forms of use, and only obliges you to give correct credit to the author and the licence issued.
The following restrictions can be reflected in CC licences:
  • BY = Attribution (credit must be given to the author)
  • SA = Share Alike (the work or parts of it may only be redistributed under the same licence).
  • ND = Non-Derivative (the work may not be modified)
  • NC = Non-Commercial (the work may not be included in offers for which a fee is charged)
These components can be combined as desired, e.g. CC-BY-ND-NC. However, the restrictions on use beyond CC-BY can also prove counterproductive if, for example, this prohibits inclusion in a purchasable collective work.
Note: If you publish a journal article in the context of Section 38(4) UrhG (see above), you must not issue a CC licence, as this may conflict with the rights of the publisher.

Setting up and functions of a user account

Register user account:

  • Click on "Log in" at the top right or on the large "Publish" button on the right.
  • Both will take you to the login page, where you can click on the link for registering new users at the very bottom.
  • In the following window, enter your e-mail address and click the "Register" button.
  • You will receive an e-mail at the address given. Please follow the link given in it.
  • This link will take you to the next step of registration. Please fill in the form. First and last name are mandatory, a password is also required. The "Telephone" and "Language" details are optional.
  • You can change your details and password if necessary.

User account functions

Two additional functions are available to registered users:
  • Subscribe to collections:
    • You can select collections in your personal profile via the drop-down menu and subscribe by clicking the "Add" button.
    • You will then be notified of new additions to the selected collections by e-mail.
    • To remove a collection from your list again, select it by tick and click the "Remove" button.
  • Submit:
  • If you are logged in, you have the option to publish documents on GEO-LEOe-docs. Please note the information above under "Copyright issues to be clarified in advance" and "Deposit Licence". Details on the process can be found below under "Submission process (uploading a document)".

Submission process (uploading a document)

  • Clarify copyright issues in advance (see above).
  • Decide which licence you would like to and are entitled to grant, which permits the further distribution of the work beyond the basic licence of the repository (see above under "Deposit Licence"). GEO-LEOe-docs recommends the use of the CC-BY licence.
  • Register on GEO-LEOe-docs and log in.
  • Click the "Submit" button to be guided through the various steps until publication.
  • Note: You can save the process at any time (before completing the submission) and continue later.
Screenshot Submit Button

Step 1: Select a collection.

Screenshot Select Collection
  • Select a collection via dropdown menu. There are 6 major subject collections to choose from, plus collections of various series and conferences.
  • This step is not necessary if you have already moved to a collection before. In this case, click on the button "Submit here".

Step 2: Metadata Import

Screenshot Metadata Import
  • If your publication has already been published and a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) or a PPN (Pica production number of a catalogue entry in the Common Union Catalogue, https://kxp.k10plus.de/) is available, please enter the corresponding Identifier here. When you click on "Next", metadata for the description of your publication will be imported automatically and transferred to the form of the following step "Describe".
  • If no DOI or PPN is available, please leave both fields empty and continue.

Step 3: Select the publication type

Screenshot Select publication type
  • Here you specify the publication type via the drop-down menu. This determines which metadata fields are set in the following input form (e.g. "Editor" for edited volumes instead of "Author" as for monographs).
  • The selectable publication types are: "Article", "Monograph", "Edited Volume", "Article in Edited Volume" or "Conference Paper" respectively, each assigned as "First Publication", "Pre-/Post-print" or "Digital Reproduction", as well as "Map", "Poster" and "Presentation".

Step 4: Describe Item

This is where the metadata describing the work (title, authors, year of publication, document type, etc.) are recorded. Please fill in the fields as completely as possible!
Screenshot Dokument beschreiben
  • If you have entered an identifier in the previous step, some imported data will already be entered here. In most cases, however, not all mandatory fields are filled in. Please complete the empty fields and correct any incorrect entries!
  • Required fields are marked with *.
  • There are repeatable fields (e.g. "Author(s)" to indicate several contributors). These have an "Add" button to add more entries. To remove entries, you can select them with a tick and then delete them with the "Remove" button.
  • The higher-level publication type is defined more precisely via "Document Type", e.g. for dissertations publication type "Monograph (Pre-/Post-print)" and document type "Thesis". You can choose from the following document types: Research, Thesis, Conference Object, Lecture, Manual, Excursion Guide, Study, Bibliography, Commemorative Publication, Map, Abstract, Editorial, Report, Presentation, Poster, Journal, Source.
  • To describe the content of your publication, it is useful to enter a short abstract and assign keywords.
  • As the last field of the description (step 4), you have the option of assigning a Creative Commons licence (see above under "Deposit Licence"). FID GEO recommends assigning the CC-BY licence. This gives your work the status of Open Access in the narrower sense.

Step 5: Create DOI

Screenshot Create DOI
  • Click on the button "Add DOI", unless the work already has a DOI. The DOI that your work will receive after publication will then be displayed. This gives you the opportunity to add it to your document before uploading it.

Step 6: Upload

Screenshot Upload
  • At least one file must be uploaded. Additional files (e.g. attachments) are possible.
  • Save your file as PDF or PDF/A without any usability restrictions such as print protection, etc.. For illustrations such as maps or diagrams as attachments, you can also choose other suitable formats such as TIF or jpg.
  • Please give the files meaningful names (e.g. "Stein et al. (2021)", not "paper_final"). This will automatically be displayed as the text of the download link if you do not make an entry in the "Description" field.
  • A thumbnail file is generated from the first uploaded file, later displayed as a preview image (we can also subsequently change the order of the files for this purpose, contact us if necessary).

Step 7: Verify

  • The entered data are displayed for verification. For correction you can click on the button "Back" or "Correct entries".

Step 8: Licensing (FID GEO deposit licence)

  • In the last step, you agree to the publication of the document on GEO-LEOe-docs. You thereby allow the storage, online provision and format transformation by the SUB Göttingen. You thereby allow others to download, store and print the work in small numbers. You also declare that you will not violate any rights of third parties by publishing the work, and that you will inform GEO-LEOe-docs immediately in the event that legal conflicts subsequently become known.
  • You can view and download the text of the FID GEO deposit licence at any time at https://e-docs.geo-leo.de/rights.
  • You give your consent by ticking the box.
  • Afterwards, you can "complete publication" by clicking on the button.

After completion of the publication

  • Your contribution becomes visible in the selected collection with its own publication page.
  • The DOI link (if a new DOI has been assigned) is active from the following day. Also from the following day, a preview image (thumbnail) of your publication is visible.
  • Published documents are not deleted, in rare cases, for example infringements of third party rights, the document will be withdraw. This will be displayed under the URL of the document. For corrections on the document we use versioning, a new document can be uploaded and both versions can be accessed. However, subsequent additions and corrections to the metadata (description) are possible on request. A publication can also be assigned to additional collections. Please feel free to contact us (fid-geo-digi@sub.uni-goettingen.de)!