Scholaris is a shared opt-in institutional repository service for participating Canadian universities and research organizations that supports the open discovery, sharing, stewardship, and preservation of Canadian scholarship.
Scholaris provides scalable infrastructure, technical expertise, and community support for institutional repository teams, along with a range of service features and benefits.
Scholaris is built on open-source DSpace software and is hosted by the University of Toronto Libraries (UTL) in Ontario, Canada. DSpace is currently guided by LYRASIS and supported by DSpace community members around the world.
Unless otherwise noted, content made available through Scholaris sites is intended to be publicly accessible and openly discoverable. Users may access, view, and share most materials without restriction, in alignment with the principles of open access.
The following terms and conditions govern all use of the Site (the Scholaris-hosted DSpace repository for your Home Institution), the Scholaris website, and the services provided by Scholaris (taken together, the “Service”). The Service is operated by UTL through Scholars Portal (taken together, the “Service Provider”) on behalf of “Participating Institutions”" across Canada. Participating Institutions are post-secondary academic institutions and research organizations that have a contractual agreement with the Service Provider, and through their consortia, to use the Service. For the purposes of these Terms of Use, a Participating Institution with which you are affiliated may also be referred to as your “Home Institution.”
The Service is offered subject to acceptance without modification of all the terms and conditions contained herein (the “Terms of Use”) and all other operating rules, policies, and procedures that may be published from time to time on this Site by the Service Provider.
The Service Provider reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to modify or replace any of the Terms of Use at any time. It is your responsibility to check the Terms of Use periodically for changes. Your continued use of the Service following the posting of any changes to the Terms of Use constitutes acceptance of those changes.
As a condition of use, you promise not to use the Service for any purpose that is prohibited by the Terms of Use. For purposes of the Terms of Use, “Content” includes, without limitation, any information, data, text, software, scripts, graphics, and interactive features generated, provided, or otherwise made accessible by the Service Provider on or through the Service.
By way of example, and not as a limitation, you shall not (or permit others to) either (i) take any action or (ii) upload, download, post, submit, or otherwise distribute or facilitate distribution of any content using any communications service or other service available on or through the Service, that:
infringes any patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright, right of publicity, or other right of any other person or entity;
is unlawful, threatening, abusive, harassing, defamatory, libelous, deceptive, fraudulent, invasive of another’s privacy, tortious, obscene, offensive, or profane;
constitutes unauthorized or unsolicited advertising, junk, or bulk e-mail (“spamming”);
contains software viruses or any other computer codes, files, or programs that are designed or intended to disrupt, damage, limit, or interfere with the proper function of any software, hardware, or telecommunications equipment, or to damage or obtain unauthorized access to any system, data, or other information of the Service Provider or any third party.
Additionally, you shall not: (i) take any action that imposes or may impose (as determined by the Service Provider in its sole discretion) an unreasonable or disproportionately large load on the infrastructure managed by the Service Provider; (ii) interfere or attempt to interfere with the proper working of the Service or any activities conducted on the Service; or (iii) bypass any measures the Service Provider may use to prevent or restrict access to the Service (or other accounts, computer systems, or networks connected to the Service).
You shall abide by all applicable local, provincial, national, and international laws and regulations.
As a condition to using the Service, you may be required to register with the Site (the DSpace repository for your Home Institution) and to provide an email (which will become your username) and select a password. Details about the information collected through your use of the Service can be found in the Scholaris Privacy Statement
You shall provide accurate, complete, and updated registration information. Failure to do so shall constitute a breach of the Terms of Use, which may result in immediate termination of your account. Your Home Institution reserves, in its sole discretion, the right to refuse registration.
You are solely responsible for activity that occurs on your account and shall be responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your login credentials. You shall never use another user’s account without such other user’s express permission. You will immediately notify your Home Institution in writing of any unauthorized use of your account or other account related security breach of which you are aware.
The Service Provider provides Participating Institutions with a Site (DSpace repository) in which “Repository Administrators” for their Home Institution have administrative control. As a condition of the Service, Participating Institutions are responsible for establishing and enforcing policies and procedures for their Site, such as copyright policies, accessibility policies, content guidelines, roles and permissions, and/or institutional authorization procedures. Users affiliated with a Participating Institution must comply with these policies and procedures, which must not conflict with terms governing the Service.
Participating Institutions are also responsible for the oversight and stewardship of Content uploaded to their Site, including setting deposit guidelines, managing user accounts and permissions, and handling takedown and copyright decisions. The Service Provider maintains the technical operation, maintenance, and security of the Site but does not review, manage, or enforce institutional policies and procedures regarding Content.
Participating Institutions may opt to add integrations with third-party services on their Site, including citation management tools, indexing platforms, or analytics providers, where such integrations are supported within the service model. Use of any third-party services is subject to the terms and privacy policies of those external providers. The Service Provider is not responsible for the policies or practices of third-party platforms.
Questions about your Home Institution’s policies, procedures, or integrations should be directed to the Repository Administrator(s) at your institution.
The majority of Content made available on the Site is intended to be publicly available. Some materials may be available under the terms of an open license chosen by the rights holder. Users are responsible for abiding by conditions of Canadian copyright law and any open licenses present on the Content.
Repository Administrators have the ability to manage user permissions and authorize users to upload, submit, disclose, distribute, and post Content (including, without limitation, information, data, and images) to the Site. As an authorized user of the site, you are solely responsible for all Content (herein referred to as “User Submissions”) submitted to the Site through your account. Repository Administrators may access and impersonate user accounts only for troubleshooting or administrative purposes. This access is limited to authorized library staff and is prohibited for any other use.
You acknowledge that the Service Provider and the Home Institution will not be liable for any loss of or damage to the User Submissions, either in whole or in part, including accidental deletions or unauthorized access.
You further represent and warrant that you are lawfully entitled and have the full authority to license your Content in the ways described in these Terms of Use, and that you are under no obligation or restriction created by law, contract, or otherwise that would prevent you from entering into and fully performing these Terms of Use.
The Service Provider does not review Content uploaded to the Site either before or after it is published.
It is your responsibility to ensure your Content meets all the terms and conditions outlined in this Terms of Use, and any applicable content guidelines from your Home Institution, prior to upload and publication via the Service.
By uploading Content through the Site, you make the following representations and warranties to the Service Provider and your Home Institution:
Your Content does not infringe upon the copyright or other intellectual property rights, including, but not limited to patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright, right of publicity, or other right of any third party.
Your Content does not violate any laws, including, but not limited to laws related to defamation or obscenity.
You will promptly notify both the Service Provider and your Home Institution of any issues regarding confidentiality, privacy or data protection, licensing, intellectual property, or other obligations or restrictions created by law, contract, or otherwise, that pertain to your Content.
Your Content does not contain software viruses or any other computer codes, files, or programs that are designed or intended to disrupt, damage, limit, or interfere with the proper function of any software, hardware, or telecommunications equipment or to damage or obtain unauthorized access to any system, data, or other information of the Service Provider or any third party.
Your Content contains proper attribution and citation in adherence with academic integrity and disciplinary norms.
Any use of the Site in violation of the foregoing violates these Terms of Use and may result in, among other things, termination or suspension of your rights to use the Site.
Questions about your Home Institution’s policies and procedures should be directed to the relevant Repository Administrator(s) at your institution.
By using the Service, you confirm that your Submissions do not contain information that could directly or indirectly identify subjects except where the release of such identifying information has no potential for constituting an unwarranted invasion of privacy and/or breach of confidentiality.
You represent and warrant that you are lawfully entitled and have full authority to license the Service Provider to use the Content in the ways described in these Terms and Conditions, and you are not under any obligation or restriction created by law, contract, or otherwise that would prevent you from entering into and fully performing these Terms and Conditions.
Please be advised the Site is hosted in Canada. If you access the Site from any other region of the world with laws or other requirements governing personal data collection, use, or disclosure that differ from applicable laws in Canada, then through your continued use of the Site you are transferring your data to Canada, and you agree to have your data transferred to and processed in Canada.
To the extent permitted by law and subject to any intellectual property policies from your Home Institution, by depositing or uploading Content to the Site via the Service, you grant the Service Provider and your Home Institution a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to use, reproduce, distribute, prepare derivative works of, display, and perform the Content in connection with this Service. This includes, without limitation, the creation of copies, back-ups, and alteration of data formats for the purposes of preservation and reuse. Granting this license is different from transferring copyright. Copyright for your Content is never transferred to the Service Provider or your Home Institution.
You further grant the Service Provider and your Home Institution permission to migrate your Content to any medium, format, or platform for the purposes of preservation. This authorization is solely a permission and does not obligate the Service Provider to perform any migrations; such activities may be undertaken by your Home Institution according to their preservation policies.
The Service Provider will make best efforts to maintain the integrity of your Content in accordance with the terms and conditions of its agreements with Participating Institutions. You further provide permission for the Service Provider and/or your Home Institution, without limitation, to take the following actions on any publicly available Content:
promote and advertise your Content, in any form, for the Service;
harvest, or allow to be harvested, metadata in your Content for public access catalogues and discovery services.
harvest, or allow to be harvested, metadata in your Content by the Service Provider or Home Institution for research, development, or other future optional services or projects.
The Service Provider reserves the right, but is under no obligation, to facilitate preservation, verification, management, and use, and to permanently archive your data at multiple locations.
The Service Provider and/or your Home Institution may remove any Content at any time for any reason (including, without limitation, upon receipt of claims or allegations from third parties or authorities related to the Content), including in accordance with curation and retention policies of the Service Provider and your Home Institution.
The Service Provider or your Home Institution may terminate your access to all or any part of the Service at any time, with or without cause, with or without notice, effective immediately. If you wish to terminate your User account, you will notify the Repository Administrator at your Home Institution. All provisions of the Terms of Use which by their nature should survive termination shall survive termination, including, without limitation, ownership provisions, warranty disclaimers, indemnity, and limitations of liability.
THE SERVICE (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, THE CONTENT AND USER SUBMISSIONS) IS PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” AND IS WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF TITLE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND ANY WARRANTIES IMPLIED BY ANY COURSE OF PERFORMANCE OR USAGE OF TRADE, ALL OF WHICH ARE EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMED. OCUL, AND ITS DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, SUPPLIERS, PARTNERS, AND CONTENT PROVIDERS, DO NOT WARRANT THAT: (I) THE CONTENT OR USER SUBMISSIONS ARE TIMELY, ACCURATE, COMPLETE, RELIABLE OR CORRECT; (II) THE SERVICE WILL BE SECURE OR AVAILABLE AT ANY PARTICULAR TIME OR LOCATION; (III) ANY DEFECTS OR ERRORS WILL BE CORRECTED; (IV) THE CONTENT OR USER SUBMISSIONS ARE FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS; OR (V) THE RESULTS OF USING THE SERVICE WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS. YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE IS SOLELY AT YOUR OWN RISK.
THE SERVICE PROVIDER MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, BY OPERATION OF LAW OR OTHERWISE, REGARDING OR RELATING TO THE SERVICES OR CONTENT PROVIDED.
IN NO EVENT SHALL THE SERVICE PROVIDER, NOR ITS DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, SUPPLIERS, PARTNERS, OR CONTENT PROVIDERS, BE LIABLE UNDER CONTRACT, TORT, STRICT LIABILITY, NEGLIGENCE OR ANY OTHER LEGAL THEORY WITH RESPECT TO THE SERVICE OR ANY CONTENT OR USER SUBMISSIONS (I) FOR ANY LOST PROFITS OR SPECIAL, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OF ANY KIND WHATSOEVER, SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES (HOWEVER ARISING); (II) FOR ANY BUGS, VIRUSES, TROJAN HORSES, OR THE LIKE (REGARDLESS OF THE SOURCE OF ORIGINATION); (III) FOR ANY ERRORS OR OMISSIONS IN ANY CONTENT OR USER SUBMISSIONS OR FOR ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE OF ANY KIND INCURRED AS A RESULT OF YOUR USE OF ANY CONTENT OR USER SUBMISSIONS POSTED, EMAILED, TRANSMITTED, OR OTHERWISE MADE AVAILABLE ON OR THROUGH THE SERVICE; OR (IV) FOR ANY DIRECT DAMAGES IN EXCESS OF (IN THE AGGREGATE) $10 (CANADA).
You will indemnify and hold the Service Provider harmless from and against any and all loss, cost, expense, liability, or damage, including, without limitation, all reasonable attorneys’ fees and court costs, arising from the i) use or misuse of the Service; (ii) your access to the Site, use of the Services, violation of the Terms of Use by you; or (iii) the infringement by you, or any third party using your account, of any intellectual property or other right of any person or entity. Such losses, costs, expenses, damages, or liabilities shall include, without limitation, all actual, general, special, and consequential damages.
A printed version of the Terms of Use and of any notice given in electronic form shall be admissible in judicial or administrative proceedings based upon or relating to the Terms of Use to the same extent and subject to the same conditions as other business documents and records originally generated and maintained in printed form. You and the Service Provider agree that any cause of action arising out of or related to the Service must commence within one (1) year after the cause of action arose; otherwise, such cause of action is permanently barred.
These Terms and Conditions shall be governed by and interpreted in accordance with the laws of the Province of Ontario. All disputes under these Terms and Conditions will be resolved in the applicable provincial or federal courts of Ontario. You consent to the jurisdiction of such courts and waive any jurisdictional or venue defenses otherwise available. Use of the Service is not authorized in any jurisdiction that does not give effect to all provisions of the Terms of Use, including without limitation, this section.
The Terms of Use are the entire agreement between you, your Home Institution, and the Service Provider with respect to the Service, and supersede all prior or contemporaneous communications and proposals (whether oral, written, or electronic) between you and the Service Provider or Home Institution with respect to this Site (but excluding the use of any software which may be subject to a separate end-user license agreement). If any provision of the Terms of Use is found to be unenforceable or invalid, that provision will be limited or eliminated to the minimum extent necessary so that the Terms of Use will otherwise remain in full force and effect and enforceable.
The Terms of Use are personal to you, and are not assignable, transferable, or sublicensable by you except with prior written consent of the Service Provider or Home Institution. The Service Provider may assign, transfer, or delegate any of its rights and obligations hereunder without consent. No agency, partnership, joint venture, or employment relationship is created as a result of the Terms of Use and neither party has any authority of any kind to bind the other in any respect. In any action or proceeding to enforce rights under the Terms of Use, the prevailing party will be entitled to recover costs and attorneys’ fees. All notices under the Terms of Use will be in writing and will be deemed to have been duly given when received, if personally delivered or sent by certified or registered mail, return receipt requested; when receipt is electronically confirmed, if transmitted by facsimile or e-mail; or the day after it is sent, if sent for next day delivery by recognized overnight delivery service.
You acknowledge that the copyright in any guides, documentation, or relevant materials prepared by the Service Provider or Participating Institutions to assist Users and Repository Administrators with the use of the Site or Service will belong to the Service Provider or relevant Participating Institution that created the content.
This Terms of Use document is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 license.
DSpace trademarks, service marks, and logos are owned or controlled by Lyrasis or licensed to Lyrasis and are protected by copyright and trademark laws and various other intellectual property rights and unfair competition laws of the United States, international copyright laws, and international conventions.
The Scholaris logo was created and is owned by the Service Provider. You may not repurpose or modify the logo without obtaining prior written consent from the Service Provider.