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diff --git a/guide/src/authors.md b/guide/src/authors.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..3072db9a --- /dev/null +++ b/guide/src/authors.md @@ -0,0 +1,86 @@ +For Authors +=============== + +This page addresses common questions and concerns from individual authors of +works indexed in Fatcat, as well as the Internet Archive Scholar service built +on top of it. + +For help in exceptional cases, contact Internet Archive through our usual +support channels. + + +## Updating Works + +A frequent request from authors is to remove outdated versions of works. + +The philosophy of the catalog is to go beyond "the version of record" and +instead collect "the record of versions". This means that drafts, manuscripts, +working papers, and other alternative versions of works can be fully included +and differentiated using metadata in the catalog. Even in the case of +retractions, expressions of concern, or other serious issues with earlier +versions, it is valuable to keep out-of-date versions in the catalog. Corrected +or updated versions will generally be preferred and linked to publicly, for +example on scholar.archive.org. Outright removing content reduces context and +can result in additional confusion for readers and librarians. + +Because of this, it is strongly preferred to add new updated content instead of +requesting the removal of old out-of-date content. Depending on the situation, +this could involve creating a new post-publication `release` entity with the +date of update, with status `updated` or `retracted`; or a new pre-publication +`release`; or crawling an updated PDF and adding to an existing `release` +entity. + + +## Correcting Metadata + +Sometimes the bibliographic metadata in fatcat is incorrect, incomplete, or out +of date. This is a particularly sensitive subject when it comes to representing +information about individuals. While we aspire to automating metadata updates +and improvements as much as possible, often a human touch is best. + +Any person can contribute to the catalog directly by creating an account and +submitting changes for review. This includes, but is not limited to, authors or +a person acting on their behalf submitting corrections. The [editing +quickstart](./quickstart.md) is a good place to start. Please remember that +corrections are considered part of the public record of the catalog and will be +preserved even if a contributor later deletes their account. Editor *usernames* +can be changed at any time. + +Fatcat is in some sense a non-authoritive catalog, which means that it is +usually best if corrections are made in "upstream" sources first (or at the +same time) as being corrected in fatcat. For example, updating metadata in +publisher databases, repositories, or ORCiD in addition to in fatcat. + + +### Name Changes + +The preferred workflow for author name changes depends on the author's +sensitivity to having prior names accessible and searchable. + +If "also known as" behvior is desirable, contributor names on the release +record should remain unchanged (matching what the publication at the time +indicated), and a linked `creator` entity should include the +currently-preferred name for display. + +If "also known as" is not acceptable, and the work has already been updated in +authoritative publication catalogs, then the contributor name can be updated on +`release` records as well. + +See also the [`creator` style guide](./entity_creator.md). + + +### Author Relation Completeness + +`creator` records are not always generated when importing `release` records; +the current practice is to create and/or link them if there is ORCiD metadata +linking specific authors to a published work. + +This means that author/work is often very incomplete or non-existent. At this +time we would recommend using other services like dblp.org or openalex.org for +more complete (but possibly less accurate) author/work metadata. + + +## Resolving Publication Disputes + +Authorship and publication ethics disputes should generally be resolved with +the original publisher first, then updated in fatcat. |