Frequently Asked Questions


Digital Commons Accounts / Signing In


Submitting Works to Digital Commons


Reviewing in Digital Commons


Promoting Your Research in Digital Commons


Sponsoring and Managing Content in Digital Commons



Do I need a Digital Commons Account?

You do not need a Digital Commons account to access collections. You only need a Digital Commons account if you will be uploading or maintaining content in a Digital Commons collection, or if you are being granted administrative rights for a particular collection. If you are unable to access a resource, contact digitalcommons@georgiasouthern.edu to see if we can provide you with a copy.

I am unable to log into Digital Commons. Help!

The system could be denying you access for a variety of reasons. Consider the following:

  1. Have you confirmed your account via email? You should have received an email to confirm your account. It may be in your Spam folder. If you did not receive an email, contact support@dc.bepress.com
  2. Did you recently change your email? If you recently changed emails, you may need to login with your previous email address and edit your profile to change your email address.
  3. Do you have the correct password? Click on Forget your password and follow the instructions in the email you receive.
Is the Digital Commons login connected to Georgia Southern’s MyGS login?

Digital Commons login credentials are not connected to your MyGS login credentials. However, you will want to use your Georgia Southern email address to set up a new Digital Commons account. Also, if you are trying to access a library-created SelectedWorks profile, use your Georgia Southern email address to log in.

How do I know if my submission has been received?

You should see a confirmation screen and receive an email after successfully submitting a work to Digital Commons. Submission forms will time out. If so, you may need to resubmit your answers. Contact digitalcommons@georgiasouthern.edu if you did not receive confirmation of your submission.

When I copy and paste abstracts into the Submit form, some formatted text reverts to plain text. What's going on?

Digital Commons supports the ISO 8859-1 character set (this includes the numbers 0-9, upper- and lower-case letters A-Z, and standard English punctuation). Although you may take advantage of the complete character set, we recommend you consider not using special characters as these may inhibit user searches, both on the web and on the Digital Commons site.

How do I include accents and special characters in abstracts and titles?

Combine all of the sections together as one Microsoft Word document or PDF file and submit that.

To make one PDF file from multiple files using Adobe Acrobat, open the first PDF file, then choose Document>Insert Pages to insert the second file (indicate that the second file should go after the last page of the first file). Repeat for all documents. The result will be one compound PDF file.

What types of files can I upload to Digital Commons?

You can upload any discrete file type to Digital Commons, including all Microsoft Office files; PDFs; and audio, video, and image files. Additionally, you can stream media from third-party services like YouTube or Vimeo on Digital Commons metadata pages.

How do I revise a submission?
  1. Click My Account.
  2. Log in to your account.
  3. Click on the title of the submission you want to revise.
  4. Click Edit Submissionin the menu at the top of the screen.
  5. Click Revise Submissionin the left-hand menu.
  6. Revise your submission, then click Submit
Do I lose copyright when I submit works to Digital Commons?

Generally, no. In most cases, authors retain copyright for works they submit to Digital Commons. Authors may also have options to embargo their works, restrict access to the Georgia Southern University campus, or assign a Creative Commons License to their submissions. Consult the Copyright Information page for more details on Digital Commons’s copyright policies.

How do I request the removal or modification of works in Digital Commons?

The Georgia Southern University Libraries make every effort to ensure that all works submitted to Digital Commons@Georgia Southern are archived and disseminated in accordance with United States copyright law, University policy, and the wishes of content creators. If for any reason you believe that a work included in Digital Commons should be removed or modified, please email the Digital Commons Team at digitalcommons@georgiasouthern.edu. A member of the Digital Commons Team will contact you as soon as possible during regular business hours.

Why is the system denying me access when I try to log in?

For reviewers, you must sign in with the email address at which you received the Request to Review email.

If you are using the correct email address, the system could be denying you access for a variety of reasons. Consider the following:

  1. Have you confirmed your account via email? You should have received an email to confirm your account. It may be in your Spam folder. If you did not receive an email, contact support@dc.bepress.com
  2. Did you recently change your email? If you recently changed emails, you may need to login with your previous email address and edit your profile to change your email address.
  3. Do you have the correct password? Click on Forget your password and follow the instructions in the email you receive.
How do I obtain the proposal I am trying to review?

For journals, you should be able to view the article by clicking on the PDF button.

For conferences, you can view the proposal information either in the email or on the initial review page where you see the Submit Review button. Conference proposals may not include a PDF file.

If you need help finding proposal information, contact digitalcommons@georgiasouthern.edu.

I keep receiving reminder emails even though I turned in my review. How can I stop the reminder emails?

You may not have finished the review. Many reviews are two-part: a rubric in Google Docs and additional comments or confirmation that you finished the review in the Digital Commons system. You must submit both parts to stop the reminder emails. For further questions, contact digitalcommons@georgiasouthern.edu.

How do I promote my research in Digital Commons?

If you are a Georgia Southern faculty member and would like to promote your research, consider requesting a SelectedWorks Profile by submitting a current CV to digitalcommons@georgiasouthern.edu. The more places your research is available, the more likely people will find and use your work. For more information about SelectedWorks Profiles, visit our SelectedWorks Guide.

How do I get a SelectedWorks Profile and PlumX Metrics for my works?

Current Georgia Southern faculty members may submit a current CV to digitalcommons@georgiasouthern.edu to have the Library create a SelectedWorks Profile for you. For more information about SelectedWorks Profiles and PlumX Metrics, visit our SelectedWorks Guide.

I want a conference or journal site in Digital Commons. How do I get started?

Contact digitalcommons@georgiasouthern.edu to request a conference and/or journal site. For more information about journal and conference hosting, visit our Digital Commons Guide.

As an administrator, how do I obtain information about all the submissions on my site?

When you are on the Manage Submissions site, click on Batch revise Excel. This will provide you the information submitted by the author. The Batch revise Excel does not include a submissions manuscript number or information on the last event. If you need this information, download the Administrator Report.

If you do not see these options on the Manage Submissions page, contact digitalcommons@georgiasouthern.edu