Submit Your Work to OAKTrust

OAKTrust is Texas A&M University’s open access repository for preserving and sharing the scholarly and creative work of the Aggie community. This page guides first-time users through account setup, submission steps, and licensing options.

If you represent a college, department, or agency or if you have a large number of items to upload, the Libraries are here to help. Submit a request through our user form, and our team will assist with planning, setup, or bulk ingest.

Before You Begin

Before submitting material to OAKTrust, please review the OAKTrust Policies so you understand eligibility, copyright expectations, and access guidelines. 

Create Your Account

Log in to OAKTrust with your Texas A&M NetID and password.

If you need authorization to submit or establish a new Collection:

Automatic Submission Access

  • Faculty may submit to:
    • Faculty Publications Collection
    • Open Teaching Materials Collection
  • Graduate & Professional students may submit to:
    • Graduate and Professional Student Publications & Conference Presentations Collection

Once your access is set, you’re ready to contribute.

 

Submitting Your Works

  1. Log in to OAKTrust
  2. Browse to the appropriate Collection
  3. Click “Submit a new item to this collection”
  4. Begin the guided submission workflow

Saving or Returning to a Submission

  • Use the Save/Cancel button
  • Choose Save to pause your work
  • Return anytime via My Account → Submissions

Batch Loading

For large sets of items, batch loading is available.

Submit a request through our user form for help.

Describing Your Item

You’ll complete several screens of metadata. Below is an overview.

Initial Details

  • Multiple Titles: Select if the item has more than one title
  • Published: Select if the item has been previously published, presented, or distributed
    • If not selected, OAKTrust records the submission date as the publication date

Bibliographic Information

Mandatory fields: Authors, Title, Date

  • Authors: Last name first; use Add to add more authors
  • Title: Full title of the item
  • Other Titles: For translations, abbreviations, etc.
  • Date of Issue: Year required; full date if available
  • Publisher: For previously issued works
  • Citation: Optional but highly recommended
  • Series/Report No.: If applicable
  • Identifiers: DOI, ISBN, ISSN, URI, etc.
  • Type: Select the item type
  • Language: Primary language
  • Embargo Date: Restrict file access if required (YYYY-MM-DD or “forever”)
  • Request Access: Allows users to request access during an embargo

Access requests allow you to:

  • Deny access
  • Grant 7-day access
  • Grant permanent access to the requester
  • Make the item fully open access

Additional Description

  • Keywords: Add one keyword or phrase at a time
  • Abstract: Full text of the abstract or summary
  • Sponsors: Funding or sponsoring entities
  • Description: Extra information such as page count

Upload Your File

  • Click Browse to select your file
  • Add a brief description if submitting multiple files
  • Click Next to proceed

Verify Your Submission

  • Review the metadata and file(s) for accuracy.
  • Use Correct one of these to revise.
  • Click Next when everything looks right.

Choose a License

Select the option that matches your situation:

1. If you are the copyright owner

Choose “I am the rights holder to this work.” You’ll grant a non-exclusive license to TAMU, your department, and TDL.

2. You have permission from the copyright holder

Choose “I am authorized by the rights holder to submit this work.”  Upload the permission document if available.

3. The work is in the public domain

Choose “I warrant this work is in the public domain.” After selecting the appropriate license, click I Grant the License and proceed.

Submission Complete

You will receive an email confirmation with a permanent link to your item.

If your Collection requires review, the reviewer will be notified. Once approved, your item will become publicly available in OAKTrust.