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Scholarly Communication

Resources for scholarly publishing, author rights and maximizing the impact of your research.

What is Constellation?

Constellation is Dominican's institutional repository - our online, open access collection of university scholarship.  It includes faculty journal articles, GSLIS PhD dissertations, Caritas Veritas Symposium proceedings, and more.  Constellation is a collaborative repository that also serves other liberal arts colleges in the Chicago area.

Why Should I Publish My Scholarship In Constellation?

Here’s how Constellation can benefit you, Dominican, and other researchers and students in your field:

• Increased visibility

Constellation is open access, meaning anyone can access its contents.  No one needs a subscription or a password, and submissions are included in Google or other search engine results.  Therefore, the likelihood that your work will be discovered by others is increased, potentially leading to collaborative research, higher citation rates, grant funding, job prospects and/or graduate school acceptance.

• Knowledge sharing

Since Constellation is open access, other researchers can readily access your work, potentially leading to citation and to collaboration across and beyond the University.  The repository can be a key part of the scholarly communication and publication processes. 

• Continual and perpetual access to your work

Researchers no longer need to track you down to get a copy of your work.  They, and you, can access your work at any time from any place.

• Centralized location of University scholarship

The online repository provides a convenient, single location to which researchers can refer.

• Preservation

In addition to your personal copies of your work, the University will keep permanent digital copies in Constellation or its successor technology.

Do I Get To Keep My Author Rights?

Yes.

When you submit your work to Constellation, neither Dominican University nor Rebecca Crown Library will take your copyright.  You only give us permission to post your work in Constellation.

Will Other Publishers Let Me Publish In Constellation?

Many publishers allow you to publish with them and deposit a copy of your work in Constellation.  Always read your publisher's agreement before signing so you know what rights you keep.   You may negotiate with publishers who do not allow deposits in an institutional repository. 

See the Author Rights section of this guide for more information on author rights and publishers.

What Would Prevent Me From Publishing In Constellation?

• Future Publication

Some, but not all, publishers accept works that have been made available through Constellation.  You should always check the policies of potential publishers to ensure that items deposited in Constellation can be published later.  This applies to student work, as well.  To find publishers that allow you deposit your work in Constellation, use SHERPA/RoMEO.

• Third Party Copyrighted Material

If your work includes materials, including images, that are not original works by you, you may need to secure permission from the copyright owner to include those materials in your work in Constellation.