About JMU Scholarly Commons

JMU Scholarly Commons is a resource for sharing the scholarship and activities of the James Madison University community. These materials range from peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings, to theses and dissertations, to Special Collections materials and more. We collect a variety of formats, including but not limited to papers, presentations, data sets, images, audio, and video.

Policies

Contact Us

If you have questions about JMU Scholarly Commons, please contact the repository administrators.

Embargo and Publishing Policy

By submitting to JMU Scholarly Commons, you are agreeing to share your work through a Creative Commons-Attribution-Non Commercial-No derivative license while retaining copyright of the content. If you also publish this content through a journal or other venue, you can comply with this license by working with a publisher whose publication agreement allows for your thesis or dissertation to remain in our institutional repository. Green or Gold Open Access journals are recommended; your liaison librarian can help you locate publishers or learn more about your rights as an author. James Madison University is not responsible for copyright violations committed by authors who submit work to JMU Scholarly Commons and transfer copyright elsewhere. For more information contact the repository administrators.

Authors seeking more information are encouraged to contact us for individualized assistance, and to explore the following resources:

Take-Down Policy

JMU Scholarly Commons (“the repository”) is a valuable resource for digitized and born-digital resources within the James Madison University community. The individual items within the repository are provided for educational and research purposes. We have diligently researched the contents of the items within the repository to identify items that may be subject to copyright and trademark laws, as well as those items containing privacy-protected information. Due to the nature of the materials within the repository, we are not always able to identify items containing these types of information. We are eager to hear from individuals and rights-holders who have concerns regarding items containing these types of information.

Upon receipt of a complaint, we will review the complaint in accordance with Libraries and James Madison University established policies and procedures. An acknowledgement of a request for removal will be sent to the individual making the request. At the conclusion of the review into the request, and a notification of the online status of the item in question will be sent to the address or email on file.

Requests for removal must be in written form and sent via email or postal mail to:

JMU Digital Collections
Carrier Library
James Madison University
800 S. Main Street, MSC 1704
Harrisonburg, Virginia 22807

JMU Scholarly Commons Collection Development Policy

JMU Scholarly Commons was established as the institutional repository and open access publishing platform of James Madison University (JMU) in 2013, utilizing the Digital Commons platform. The broad capabilities of JMU Scholarly Commons include: the dissemination of JMU student, staff, and faculty research including presentations, papers, posters, and multimedia works; the dissemination of electronic theses, dissertations, and honors projects produced by JMU students; the publication of JMU-based journals including peer-reviewed publications; conference proceedings for JMU-sponsored events; dissemination of select digitized and born-digital materials from JMU Special Collections, including select publications; and other materials related to James Madison University. Please consult the full JMU Scholarly Commons Collection Development Policy for more information.

JMU Scholarly Commons Thesis and Dissertation Preservation Support Policy

JMU Libraries is committed to responsible and sustainable management of theses and dissertations deposited in JMU Scholarly Commons and to ensuring long-term access to those works.

While prudent efforts will be taken to preserve theses and dissertations in any digital format submitted to Scholarly Commons, submission in a recommended file format is strongly encouraged in order to facilitate long-term preservation.

At this time, JMU Libraries is committed to preserving the binary form of the digital object. Further practical measures to preserve as much functionality (“look and feel”) of the original content as possible will be taken as resources permit.

Digital preservation is an evolving field. Current long-term preservation strategies and technologies employed by JMU Scholarly Commons are shaped by the Libraries’ Digital Preservation Policy and informed by relevant international standards and emerging best practices. Digital preservation activities and policies are reviewed regularly to ensure that they remain current as technology and institutional practices evolve.

Please consult the full JMU Scholarly Commons Thesis and Dissertation Preservation Support Policy for more information.

Last updated July 2023.