About the Vikings Digital Repository

The Vikings Digital Repository (VDR) is Elizabeth City State University’s open access home for scholarship, creative works, and institutional memory. We collect, preserve, and share content produced by ECSU faculty, students, staff, and campus partners so it remains discoverable and citable over time.

What we collect

• Articles, conference papers, posters, presentations

• Theses, capstones, student journals, and exemplary coursework

• Creative works (scores, recordings, images, artwork, video, performances)

• University publications, reports, policies, newsletters, and historical materials

• Open Educational Resources (OER)

Who can deposit

• ECSU faculty, staff, and students

• Campus units and recognized centers/labs

• Community partners collaborating with ECSU

Why deposit

• Free, global access and higher visibility for your work

• Stable, citable links and long-term preservation

• Usage metrics and download statistics

• Support for researcher identity (e.g., ORCID) and grant/public access requirements

How depositing works (3 steps)

1. Prepare your files and any supplemental materials; confirm you hold the rights to share them.

2. Submit via the Deposit form (attach files, add authors, affiliations, description/abstract, keywords).

3. Review & publish: Library staff enhance metadata, apply licenses/embargoes, and publish.

Policies (summary)

• Copyright & licenses: Authors retain copyright. Choose a license (e.g., CC BY) during deposit.

• Embargoes: Time-limited embargoes available to meet publisher/funder requirements.

• Takedown: If you believe content infringes rights or privacy, contact us; we will review promptly.

• Preservation: We commit to trustworthy stewardship aligned with OAIS, NDSA Levels of Preservation, and * CoreTrustSeal principles (in progress). Bit-level preservation, format monitoring, and migration are part of our program.

• Metadata & identifiers: Descriptive metadata (Dublin Core-compatible) is openly shared to maximize discovery. Persistent links (Handle/ARK/DOI, as applicable) ensure long-term citability.

• Accessibility & privacy: We strive for WCAG-compliant access and respect FERPA/IRB constraints. Some items may be restricted or redacted when necessary.

Author profiles

Keep your profile current to improve discovery: affiliation, bio, interests, ORCID, and links to lab or personal pages. Email us with updates.

Digitization & special requests

We offer consultation for digitization, rights review, data curation and OER publishing. Submit a request below.

Contact & Support

Email: vdr@ecsu.onmicrosoft.com

Office: G.R. Little Library, Elizabeth City State University, 1704 Weeksville Rd, Elizabeth City, NC 27909

Staff

• Director of Library Services: Cynthia Wise, crhorne@ecsu.edu
• Digital Repository Manager & (Music/Arts, Digital Media): Nurhak Tuncer Bayramli, ntuncerbayramli@ecsu.edu
• Access Services: Ariana Curiel, arcuriel@ecsu.edu
• Technical Services & Collection Management: Mary Jordan, mrjordan@ecsu.edu