One way to make your scholarship more visible is to upload it to SHAREOK, but journal publishers sometimes don't allow authors to upload the published pdf of their article unless the author paid an article processing charge (APC). Instead, publishers generally allow authors to upload their postprint.
Uploading a postprint to SHAREOK is important, because it allows people to read (and cite) your article even if they don't have access to a journal subscription.
What is a postprint?
Postprints are known by several different names, depending on the publisher:
- postprints
- author's accepted manuscript
- accepted manuscript (AM)
- final accepted manuscript
- final uploaded manuscript
- accepted author manuscript (AAM)
- author's version of the accepted paper
The postprint is the final version of the article the author submits after all peer review has taken place, but before the publisher has formatted it in any way. Therefore, the content is largely (and sometimes exactly) the same as the content in the final, published article.
Identifying your postprints
You can identify a postprint, because:
- It does not have any formatting or branding applied
- It is generally a Word doc or a Tex format
- It sometimes has line numbers down the left margin
- It is generally one column (because no formatting has been applied)
- It is probably double spaced
Figures, graphs, illustrations, charts may be in separate documents, or sometimes they are included in the body of the postprint.
Publisher restrictions on postprints
Publishers may restrict the use of articles and manuscripts in the following ways:
- what version can be shared (preprint, postprint, or published pdf)
- when that version can be shared (by requiring an embargo period)
- where that version can be shared (on a faculty webpage, in an institutional repository, on academic social media, etc.)
- how the version can be shared (may require a citation to the published article, an article DOI, a set statement, a copyright notice, etc.)
Librarians at OU will ensure your postprint is posted legally in SHAREOK and adheres to all publisher requirements.
What next?
Next, you'll need to find your postprints:
- Search your email, computer hard drive, and cloud storage
- Contact your co-authors
- Log into the journal's submission page and retrieve a copy of the accepted version or AAM
- Contact the journal by email and ask for a copy of the accepted version of your article
Your liaison librarian can also help by creating a custom report that identifies the versions of your articles that publishers will allow us to upload to SHAREOK.
Then, email your postprints to your liaison librarian or scholarlycommunication@ou.edu. Once we have your postprints, OU Libraries staff will take care of the rest. We'll upload your work, apply any publisher-required terms, and send you the link to the item records.
