Online Poster Archive

Archive your SURCA poster in the WSU Libraries’ Research Exchange

You’ve devoted yourself to your research and worked hard to create a great poster to share at SURCA. Did you know you can have your poster digitally archived so that others can continue to benefit from your work?

WSU’s online archive of scholarship is called the Research Exchange. It’s offered to you by WSU Libraries at no charge. And, it’s endorsed by the Showcase for Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities (SURCA), part of WSU Undergraduate Education.

Having this record of your SURCA participation allows you to reference a permanent link to your work that you can always list in your resume or vita. It’s a great way to share your poster with employers and graduate schools. It also creates an opportunity for you to open a dialogue with researchers in your field.

Already, more than 5,000 researchers at WSU have filed their work in the Research Exchange. It’s easy to do. Here’s how:

How To Submit Your SURCA Poster to Research Exchange

• Get permission from your mentor as well as any co-authors. This is standard practice in every field; it’s expected, it’s courteous, and it’s required because your poster is intellectual property that belongs not only to you, but also your mentor and any other co-authors.
• Go to the Research Exchange website. Click on “Share Your Work” (top right) and sign in using your WSU NetID.
• Pick “Showcase for Undergraduate Research & Creative Activities” from the dropdown menu.
• Fill in the pertinent information for your poster, then upload the file as pdf.
• Agree to the non-exclusive license agreement for Research Exchange. You’ll retain the copyright for your work but allow us to share it online.
• And you’re done! You’ll receive an email confirming your submission and a permanent link to your work.

If you have any questions about the service or the procedures, please send an email to libraries.research@wsu.edu.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much will this online archiving option cost me to set up and maintain?

It’s available to you at no charge, now or later. WSU Libraries is invested in ensuring that research at the university can be found and appreciated by those who benefit most from it, and for this reason the Libraries continues to support the Research Exchange.

How long will my SURCA poster be stored in the Research Exchange?

Research Exchange is meant to be a permanent archiving solution. Once added, your work will remain in the archive. However, if concerns arise in the future about your research—if access needs to be restricted due to privacy or ethical concerns—the WSU Libraries can opt to limit access or remove your poster from Research Exchange after your case has been reviewed.

Will a record of my research and my name be available on search engines?

Yes, the work in Research Exchange is indexed by search engines and discoverable via tools like Google and Google Scholar.

Is the Research Exchange searchable?

Yes, it is searchable via search engine. You can also search the website itself by navigating to the Research Exchange website and placing a search query in the box at the upper left.

If I think there’s a problem with how my poster appears on the Research Exchange, what can I do about it?

Contact libraries.research@wsu.edu with concerns.

How long after SURCA can I upload my poster as a pdf?

The SURCA archive will remain open for submissions until mid-summer. If it is later than, say, July, and you want to deposit your poster, contact libraries.research@wsu.edu and the Libraries will upload your poster on your behalf.

Is my poster copyrighted?

Yes. Actually, according to U.S. copyright law, the moment you finish your poster and it is in a “fixed form,” you automatically hold copyright. This means that you (and your co-authors) have the right to make copies of your poster, distribute those copies online or in person, post your work online, or create derivatives of your work (say, an article based on your poster). When you upload your work to Research Exchange, you continue to hold all of these rights. The WSU Libraries only ask that you sign an agreement allowing them to exercise limited rights related to your poster, most notably the right to distribute your work online. This does not preclude you from placing your poster on other websites, publishing an article based on your work, and so on.

What does the “non-exclusive license agreement” statement mean?

When you upload your poster to Research Exchange, you will be asked to sign a non-exclusive license agreement. This agreement allows the WSU Libraries a limited set of rights, most notably the right to distribute your work online. The license is “non-exclusive” because the Libraries are not alone in exercising these rights—you can also continue to share your work online. When you sign this agreement, you continue to hold the copyright for your work.

What else can I do to protect my intellectual property?

If you would like to tell others how they can use your poster when they encounter it online, consider using a Creative Commons (CC) license (see creativecommons.org/licenses). Creative Commons licenses tell others how you would like them to cite your poster, whether they can or can’t use it for commercial purposes, and whether they can or can’t create derivatives of your poster. CC licenses clarify your intentions as an author and cut down on the time it would otherwise take for someone to contact you and request permission to use your work. If you would like to use a CC license, add a note to your poster upload or contact libraries.research@wsu.edu for assistance.