ERA (Education and Research Archive)

Access the Education and Research Archive

ERA (Education and Research Archive) is the name for the University of Alberta's Digital Asset Management strategy, being developed and supported by the University of Alberta Library.

ERA's open access content includes the intellectual output of the University and promotes global opportunities for research discovery as well as for archival preservation.

ERA provides an easy and convenient solution for faculty who must deposit their research in an open access repository to meet funding agency requirements.

ERA Inquiries

ERA HelpDesk: erahelp@ualberta.ca / 780.492.4359

Contact the ERA Helpdesk to:

  • initiate mediated deposit of your work
  • obtain assistance with searching ERA or depositing items into ERA
  • ask a question about your existing deposits in ERA
  • report a technical problem or bug
  • provide suggestions or feedback

ERA Administrator: eraadmi@ualberta.ca

Contact the ERA Administrator to:

  • create a new Community in ERA
  • schedule ERA instruction for a group in your Department/Faculty

What is deposited in ERA?

The item types found in ERA are:

  • Book
  • Book Chapter
  • Conference/Workshop Paper
  • Conference/Workshop Poster
  • Conference/Workshop Presentation
  • Dataset - a group of files associated with research that often include a data file, a codebook, or other forms of data
  • Dissertations and Theses
  • Journal Article (Draft-submitted) – these are sometimes called pre-prints
  • Journal Article (Final, peer-reviewed manuscript) – these are sometimes called post-prints
  • Journal Article (Published version) – check SHERPA-RoMEO for journals allowing this type of deposit
  • Learning Object - syllabus, class Power Point presentation, practice exam, etc.
  • Report
  • Research Material – items such as an images, field notebooks, etc. that don't fall into the other categories
  • Review - book review, data review, etc.

Who may deposit items?

Registered users may deposit items in ERA. Contact erahelp@ualberta.ca to learn more about our our mediated deposit service and training sessions.

ERA Policies

ERA Content Policy

ERA hosts and preserves material related to the teaching and research activities at the University of Alberta and associated items representing intellectual production. ERA is an open access institutional repository.

All work deposited in ERA must originate from a member of the University of Alberta community unless an exception is made at the discretion of the Digital Repository Services Librarian.

All undergraduate student work in ERA must be vetted by a Faculty or Department.

Materials of an administrative nature, such as meeting minutes or general correspondence, should be deposited at the University of Alberta Archives, not in ERA.

ERA Take-Down Policy

The removal of an item from ERA once it is deposited is generally discouraged. However, items will be temporarily taken down under the following scenarios until a determination is made to either restore or permanently remove the item:

  • A copyright dispute emerges requiring investigation.
  • There is disagreement among multiple authors over whether the item should be placed in ERA. It is in the best interests of depositors to seek co-author permission prior to deposit.

Items will be removed immediately if:

  • We become aware of any illegal activity facilitated by an item in ERA.
  • An ERA item is used for internet nuisance activity by a user, such as to spam others.

Metadata Quality Policy

Detailed policy and practice workflows exist to ensure that ERA metadata is of the highest possible quality. Metadata already within ERA may undergo enhancement on an ad-hoc or project basis. This allows for optimum collation, dissemination, and preservation of ERA content. Contact eraadmi@ualberta.ca for more information.

Copyright Terms and ERA

When depositing items, you will be prompted to select a Creative Commons license. All items in ERA require an associated license so that others understand how the work can be used. See http://creativecommons.org/about for more information about Creative Commons licenses and contact erahelp@ualberta.ca for more information about copyright terms.

Note that there are three ways to determine if a journal article can be deposited in ERA and in what form:

  1. SHERPA/RoMEO: provides information about journal policies for archiving articles in institutional repositories http://www.sherpa.ac.uk/romeo
  2. Journal websites: many journals state their archiving policies on their website (see sections on author information or copyright)
  3. Ask the journal: use an author addendum and/or send an email request to retain your right to deposit your work in an institutional repository (e.g., the SPARC Canadian Author Addendum http://www.carl-abrc.ca/uploads/SCC/Addendum_updated-e.pdf)