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West-Collections/Dspace User and Admin Guides

West-Collections/Dspace is a digital repository for the works ( in computer readable text, audio, video, still images, software, etc.) created by the Faculty, Staff and Students here at WestConn. The purpose of the repository is to centralize and expand access to WestConn's intellectual and creative output and provide a platform to search those works and to help assure their preservation.

The West-Collections is maintained by Haas Library staff but its content is controlled and described by those in the WestConn community who participate. Content in West-Collections is organized into "Communities" which may be established by contacting: Brian Kennison, Veronica Kenausis or Brian Stevens at the Haas Library. You may also contact them for hands-on instruction.

If you just want to submit to a Community, skip to ""For Submitters".

For Administrators:

You'll need to establish an account so that the Library can set you as an administrator for your community. Follow this link to establish an account.

If the Library has established you as an administrator, you may follow this link for help with selecting e-people and basic administrative functions. The Library will also advise administrators on how best to structure a community and provide ongoing assistance with questions that you may arise while using West-Collections.

More about communities and their structure. . .

An academic department may wish to establish a community, but within that community they may also wish to further subdivide it into what are called sub-communities. The Community's administrator has the power to build this structure. So, for example, the English Language, Comparative Literature , and Writing Department may want to establish a community made up of sub-communities which represent general subject areas like writing and literature. At each level in this hierarchy, you are given the ability to describe and even "brand" the group of material. (click here to see this structuring illustrated in West-Collections). The collections could represent the specific courses. Collections are the level at which content is uploaded, or, in other words, the level at which "files" are listed. So based on this example one could have a hierarchy that looked like the following:

Click here for a .mov to help with creating a sub-community.

Click here for a .mov to help with creating a collection. Click here for description of the collection creation process.

For Submitters:

Getting started

1) Establish an account.
Follow this link to establish an account. Follow this link if you need help with establishing an account.
2) Belong to a Community.
Follow this link to view a list of communities.

Every Community has one or more administrators - usually the person(s) who arranged for its creation with the Library. Once your account is established, an administrator for a Community must add you as an e-person in order for you to submit a file to the community.

If you know that a community has already been established, you would like to become a "submitter" to that community, and you know its administrator, then you should contact that administrator to add you as an e-person.

When you submit to a community you submit to what is called a "Collection."

Click here for help on submitting to Collection.

You'll know you are in a collection when there is a "Submit to the Collection"; button as shown below. You will only see that button when an administrator has selected you as an e-person.

If you need further help please forward any comments/suggestions to any or all the following people: Brian Kennison, Veronica Kenausis or Brian Stevens at the Haas Library.

This is our first cut at this and we hope to continue to expand and improve these documents but we hope this will at least get everyone started.

Click here for a list of preferred file formats.