Frequently Asked Questions


What is CrossWorks and what is its role at Holy Cross?

CrossWorks is the College’s institutional repository (IR). It is an online space used to collect, preserve and provide digital access to scholarly and creative works contributed by community members, as well as select materials from the College Archives and Distinctive Collections. Faculty, staff and students can be assured that their contributions to CrossWorks will be preserved and remain available which is helpful when placing links to work on resumes, websites, etc. Contributions are searchable, discoverable and indexed in major search engines. Authors receive usage statistics for their work

{ top }

What is an Institutional Repository?

An institutional repository (IR) brings together scholarly and creative works, as well as other materials in digital format with the aim to preserve and provide open access through a single portal. CrossWorks is the IR of the College of the Holy Cross.

To learn more about institutional repositories, please visit the Digital Commons IR research page.

{ top }

What exactly does "Open Access" mean and how does it apply to works in CrossWorks?

The Budapest Open Access Initiative (BOAI) defines Open Access (OA) as follows: "By 'open access' to this literature, we mean its free availability on the public internet, permitting any users to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of these articles, crawl them for indexing, pass them as data to software, or use them for any other lawful purpose, without financial, legal, or technical barriers other than those inseparable from gaining access to the internet itself. The only constraint on reproduction and distribution, and the only role for copyright in this domain, should be to give authors control over the integrity of their work and the right to be properly acknowledged and cited." This definition is taken from the BOAI website: http://www.soros.org/openaccess/read.

Open Access is intended to facilitate and promote the advancement of research by unlocking access to scholarly publications. Holy Cross authors who deposit material for which they still own full copyright may choose to offer their work under traditional copyright terms, Open Access terms, or a Creative Commons License.

It is important not to confuse "Open Access" with "openly available on the Web." The primary difference is that Open Access typically permits extensive copying and redistribution that would not normally be permitted under Copyright law. For instance, New York Times (NYT) articles may be freely available to read by anyone, but they are still subject to traditional copyright limitations, and may not be reposted in their entirety on another Web site without prior permission from the NYT.

{ top }

What are the benefits of contributing my work to CrossWorks?

  • Increased visibility to scholarship, including unpublished works and data sets
  • Preservation and long-term access to content through a permanent link
  • Showcase for faculty and student scholarship
  • Visible impact through monthly download reports
  • Compliance with dissemination guidelines specified by grant ot government-funded requirements
  • Increase and advance global knowledge exchange
  • Promote scholarly communication and equity by providing global access as openly as possible

How can I contribute my work to CrossWorks?

Contact crossworks@holycross.edu.

{ top }

What materials are eligible for deposit?

CrossWorks accepts original scholarly and creative work completed while at Holy Cross that does not infringe on the intellectual property or legally protected rights of any third party.

CrossWorks accepts unlimited file sizes and types (as supported by bepress).

Examples of possible content are:

  • Published articles or versions thereof when copyright and/or license allow
  • Working papers, conference materials, and technical reports
  • Honors projects
  • Faculty-student collaborative projects
  • Journals published by the Holy Cross community
  • Faculty course-related output primarily of scholarly interest
  • Departmental annual reports and newsletters
  • Strategic college documents
  • Data sets
  • Image galleries
  • Multi-media projects

Who owns the copyright for works in CrossWorks?

Authors retain copyright ownership for works submitted to CrossWorks. Unless transferred or otherwise indicated, the author of a work is the copyright owner and reserves all rights granted under US Copyright Law. Please remember that all creative or scholarly works are protected by copyright law regardless of whether or not copyright notice appears on the work.

Some exceptions: 1) Authors may choose to modify their rights using a Creative Commons License which may permit uses beyond typical Fair Use scenarios, 2) Digitized material from the Library’s physical collections that are in the public domain, 3) Articles published under Open Access terms.

Please contact crossworks@holycross.edu with any further questions regarding the copyright status of materials in CrossWorks.

{ top }

How can I retain my rights as an author?

As the author of a work you are the copyright holder unless or until you transfer the copyright to someone else in a signed agreement. Normally, the copyright holder possesses the exclusive rights of reproduction, distribution, public performance, public display, and modification of the original work. An author who has transferred copyright (i.e. to a journal or monograph publisher) without retaining these rights must ask permission to deposit into an institutional repository unless the use is one of the statutory exemptions (e.g., Fair Use) in copyright law.

Publishers' agreements (often titled "Copyright Transfer Agreement") have traditionally been used to transfer copyright or key use rights from author to publisher. They are written by publishers and may capture more of your rights than are necessary to publish the work. As an author, you may be able to retain more of your rights when entering into these agreements.

Ensuring that your rights are balanced and clearly stated is your responsibility. One way to negotiate in your favor is to include an author addendum with the agreement. SPARC – Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition Resources for Authors provides information and tools to help authors create these sorts of amendments.

{ top }

How much of my previously-published work can I deposit in CrossWorks?

For previously-published works, publisher policies determine which version may be deposited in an IR. These versions are commonly defined as

  • pre-print: The author’s manuscript version that is submitted to a publisher before peer-review
  • post-print or Accepted Manuscript: The author’s final version which has been peer-reviewed and accepted for publication, but not formatted by the publisher.
  • published: The definitive final version of record that appears in a publication.

Permissions for many publishers can be found by searching SHERPA RoMEO.

Articles published expressly as Open Access may be deposited as the publisher’s version.

Unpublished works may be deposited at the discretion of the author.

{ top }

Who can access the items included in CrossWorks?

In most cases the uploaded content in CrossWorks is available to any person with access to the Internet. However, when requested by individual authors or required by publisher copyright agreements, some documents may be embargoed (not accessible) for a period of time or limited to members of the Holy Cross community. A citation to the work will always be visible in CrossWorks.

{ top }

How do I cite items in CrossWorks?

In general, CrossWorks may be treated as if it were a Library database or a website, in whatever citation style you prefer. See our Citation LibGuides for a few examples. A recommended citation is provided for each item.

{ top }

How do I know how many people have downloaded my papers?

CrossWorks automatically sends out monthly download reports to individual authors. These reports will provide basic usage information.

{ top }

I need help! Who do I contact?

Email crossworks@holycross.edu with questions or to request assistance with identifying content for submission.

{ top }