OER Commons Help Center

Does “Author” mean “uploader”?

How to make clear that person who uploaded resource may not be the original author (many uploaded resources may be uploaded on behalf of others):

For both Submit from Web and Open Author resources:

• Only users with registered, active accounts can submit a resource from the web or create a resource in Open Author.
• The Author field is a way to credit the people who created (i.e. authored) the resource. But the functionality behind the Author field differs. 
  
  

Submit from Web

Once published on your site, resources submitted from the web are called “course related materials” or CRMs (Django) and “content provider resources” (front end). 

How does the “author” get added to the resource? 

• When submitting an OER from the web, your site will automatically detect an author from the page and auto-complete that field. 
• Check that field, as it may not be accurate. Add the author and co-authors’ names as seen on the site to the best of your ability. 
  
  

What is the functionality of the “author” field on a resource submitted from the web? 

• Authors listed on CRMs do not need to have a registered, active account on your site. 
  • Anyone can be added as an author to a CRM. Kermit the Frog could be an author (not necessarily a bad thing!).  
• The author credited in the “author” field has no access to edit the resource. 
• The person who submitted the resource has no access to edit the resource. 
• Only a site admin can access the resource and edit the fields (content or metadata). 

Open Author:  

Once published on your site, resources created in Open Author (OA) are called “Lessons” (Django) and “Open Author 2.0” (front end).

 How does the “author” get added to the resource? 

• The author of the resource is automatically assigned as the person who published the Open Author resource. That person may or not be the actual author of the resource.  
• Only users with registered, active accounts can be added as authors or co-authors on an Open Author resource. 

What is the functionality of the “author” field on a resource created in Open Author?

• In many cases, the authors of Open Author resources are not the same person who creates / publishes the resource on OER Commons. 
  • Let’s assume this scenario represents the majority of your Open Author resources. 
  • In this scenario, Author = actual author and “Publisher” = one who created the OA resource (and is automatically listed as the author on the resource record)/ 
• The Publisher (i.e. the user listed in the author field on an OA resource) can edit anything on the resource: content, metadata, and even reassign authorship. (Same privileges as a site admin). 
• If the actual Author of the OA resource has a registered, active user account on your site, that user can be added as the author on the record. 
  • In this scenario, We recommend adding the Publisher as a co-author so that the Publisher can continue to have edit access to the resource.
• Workarounds: 
  • Create an organizational account: Many of our Partners across the .edu and .org spectrum have opted to create organization-level accounts to accommodate the Author issue as well as (and just as importantly), have a way to keep continuity when there are new and/or additional staff.   
  • Add a “Credits” section: If the Author of the OA resource does not need or want access to edit the resource, and/or if they do not want to create a user account on your site, then you can add the author’s name to a section devoted to “front matter” (or “back matter”) that lists the credits.