Scholars' Bank Content Policy

Scholars’ Bank is the open access repository for the works of faculty, students and staff at the University of Oregon. It exists to reflect and serve the intellectual life of the university. The repository hosts a variety of digital materials collected and/or deposited with the intent of global online dissemination and preservation in perpetuity.

Who may deposit

University of Oregon affiliates, including current teaching and research faculty, faculty emeriti, graduate students, staff, undergraduates with departmental approval, and University offices and departments are eligible to deposit materials to the repository. The UO Libraries gives priority to items that support the university’s strategic goals of scholarship and teaching, and reserves the right to make collection decisions in accordance with available resources and capacities. The UO Libraries charges no fee for the service and collects no revenue from the repository.

 

What can be deposited

Scholars' Bank is a permanent archive. Works must be of a scholarly nature and authored by or involve substantial intellectual contribution from the individual depositing the work. These include: 

  • Graduate theses, dissertations, and terminal projects
  • Retrospective digitized thesis
  • Undergraduate theses and terminal projects submitted by department representatives, including Clark Honors College
  • Open Educational Resources, learning objects, and course materials
  • Open-access versions of faculty scholarly works that are recorded in the university research information system – UO Elements
    • If you have research datasets to deposit, contact Data Services to determine the best repository
  • Research materials and outputs that are associated with projects conducted by research centers, institutes, and individual researchers
  • Publications of departments and schools that are considered permanent university records under the aegis of University Archives

Depositors must ensure all files submitted are in compliance with Americans with Disabilities Act Title II Regulations.

 

Associated Policies

In some cases, specific policies for deposit apply; these include: 

 

Intellectual Property Rights of the Author

Authors who submit their work to Scholars' Bank retain all rights to their work. When depositing an item into Scholars’ Bank, an author will be required to agree to the Author License Agreement. The UO Libraries does not seek nor claim copyright on any of the works submitted to Scholars' Bank.

 

Open Access

Scholars’ Bank is an Open Access repository. The UO Libraries’ goal is to provide free and open access to all research collected. Metadata records are openly available. Access restrictions to files are allowed in exceptional circumstances and granted for a limited time on a case-by-case basis.

Each item for deposit must:

Withdrawal of Material

Material deposited in Scholars’ Bank will remain when the author leaves the university. In exceptional cases, authors, editors, or community liaisons may request that works be removed from the repository. Reasons for withdrawing content include factual inaccuracy, harmful content, copyright infringement, or plagiarism.  

In the event that material is removed, a record of the item will be preserved, with an explanation of the withdrawal action. In the case of university records and Oregon public records, including theses and dissertations, the material will be preserved in consultation with the University Archivist. 

 

Permissions

Beyond the right to read the content or download or print a copy for personal use, re-use rights vary based on the permissions granted by individual rights holders and are noted in each record.

 

Updated Nov. 5, 2026