The World Wide Web opens many possibilities for publishing Sea Grant works. Not only can we publish electronic versions of existing, paper publications, but we are able to publish "Web only" versions of certain types of publications, or Web pages unrelated to traditional publication methods. The National Sea Grant Library is ready to accept, and give you credit for, publications which appear only on the Web.
You'll find general Sea Grant publishing guidelines - for print and the Web - in Publishing Sea Grant-Sponsored Work: Things You Ought to Know ([.pdf] [HTML] ). Here are some answers to specific questions. If you have, please contact Pat Kight at sea.grant.web@oregonstate.edu
Q. What editorial standards apply to electronic works?
A. We hold Web publications and pages to the same high standards as all Sea Grant-published work, including:
Pre-planning with the Sea Grant Communications staff. Although Web documents can be published fairly quickly, we still need to know your plans as early as possible so we can manage our work load. Please use the Communications Support Request Form indicating that you are interested in publishing on the Web.
Contents should be reviewed for scientific and technical accuracy, as appropriate. It is your job to have your work reviewed by an appropriate number of people with expertise in the subject area before you bring it to us for publication
Copy editing and proofreading. We will have your work professionally edited. Web publications should be free of typos, grammar errors, and other inaccuracies, just as paper publications are expected to be.
Proper credit should be given to all sources, including funding sources. Please pay special attention to the question of graphics; unless you are certain the graphics you want to use are in the public domain, you must obtain permission from the creator (or rights holder) to use them.
When a Web publication is a version of an existing paper publication, the two documents must be identical in content. In order to be considered an official Oregon Sea Grant publication, and to receive an ORESU number from the National Depository, the document should "live" on our site so we have control over its revision and updating. Exceptions may be made for publications developed for other sites( i.e., SeafoodNIC), but we will still expect editorial review before we issue an ORESU number. We will be glad to provide links from our Web site to those pages.
For additional information, please read Publishing Sea Grant Sponsored Work, by SG Communications managing editor (emeritus) Sandy Ridlington
Q. How should I prepare my electronic manuscript?
A. Please:
- Provide a final, reviewed version of your publication to the Sea Grant Communications office
- On CD or by e-mail
- In plain text format. All popular word-processing programs permit you to save your files as plain text. Doing so will save us time converting your publication for Web use. If formatting is critical to your content, you may submit MS Word documents. We do not accept Excel, PowerPoint, MS Publisher or Front Page documents without prior consultation. (Note: As of 2009, we are now able to put selected PowerPoint presentations online in Flash slideshow format; however, they must be made Web-ready in advance. Read a simple tutorial on making accessible PowerPoint presentations here, or in plain text here.)
- If you wish to create your own HTML or .pdf documents, please contact the Webmaster for guidelines first. Sea Grant's Web sites are built to specific standards for code and accessibility, and new content needs to meet those standards; in particular, we provide plain-text versions of all .pdf documents on our site.
- If you include illustrations, please provide them to us in .jpg or .gif format. We would prefer to receive fairly high-resolution files, which we will then optimize for Web use. As a rule, the .jpg format is best for photographs, and the .gif format for graphic art with straight lines and broad color areas. .png files are also acceptable.
- If your publication includes scientific formulae or other special text which does not easily convert to HTML,, or if graphics and layout are critical to the information you are trying to convey, talk to us about other options.
Don't forget to include:
- Department or institutional affiliation (credentials) of all authors and contributors.
- The Sea Grant number under which the work was produced.
- Credit to other funding sources.
- Bibliographic information, as appropriate.
- Sources (including Web site URLs) for further information
- Your e-mail address. We will include the author's e-mail address with each publication, where possible, so readers can contact you for more information.
Q. How will Sea Grant distribute these works?
As a matter of routine, we will
- Assign each digital publication* a Sea Grant publication number so you can get national SG credit for your work.
- Provide a copy, electronically or by printout, to the National Sea Grant Library archives.
- Notify the Sea Grant "family" that the publication exists and encourage them to make printouts available for those unable to access the Web.
- Send an announcement to our general abstract mailing list
- List the title in our online and print publication directories.
- Link to the publication from the appropriate staff or subject-matter pages on our site.
- Where appropriate, issue a news release once the publication is on line.
You may also wish to announce the publication to appropriate e-mail lists, client groups, researchers, etc.
* Note: Not all Web pages are "publications." Consult with us to determine the appropriate format for your Web content.
Q. How will these works be kept up to date?
Contact the Webmaster about making necessary revisions. We will list publications as revised (with the month and year of revision) and provide the National Depository with updated editions as necessary.
You should also contact us immediately if any content has served its purpose or grown outdated and should be removed from the Web.
Periodically, the Sea Grant Webmaster will ask you to review your own electronic publications to determine if they:
- Need revision
- Are fine as is
- Have served their useful life and should be taken off line.
Your cooperation is essential in keeping our Web site up to date.
Q. I'd like to add photos, graphics, etc. to my Sea Grant Web content. How do I do that?
A. Talk to the webmaster about formats. Generally speaking, photos for the Web should be high-quality .jpgs; other graphics should be in .gif or .png format. We may have something in our large photo database that will work. One note: If you have photos with recognizable people in them, you must have a signed photo release from each individual* before the pictures can go on line; provide a copy of the release to Communications for our files.
Q. How about video and other multi-media files?
A. We use Flash as our preferred video format because it works in most Web browsers. We can often convert video - as well as animations and PowerPoint presentations - to Flash, but it requires some planning. Because Flash and other multi-media formats are inherently inaccessible to many disabled Web users, we require a plain-text transcript of any multimedia or .pdf file we put on our site.
Q. My graduate assistant has produced a Web site as part of his/her thesis. Will Sea Grant put it on line?
A. Generally speaking, no. Just as we do not publish theses, we do not have the resources to maintain and update Web sites prepared by others. The Sea Grant Webmaster would be glad to talk to you about student-produced sites, and may be able to suggest options for putting them on line.
Q. My grant application promised a Web site as part of our outreach requirement. Will you build and maintain it for me?
A. Not unless you arranged that with us in advance. Before including a Web component in a grant application, be sure you have the resources to build it and put it on line. While we are glad to add material to the Sea Grant site when it is central to the program's mission and goals - and glad to link to researchers' own sites - we generally do not have the resources to build and maintain a separate site for you.
Q. My academic department/county Extension office has a Web site and they want me to provide content for it. Can you update that Web page for me?
A. No. Departments and other university units are responsible for their own Web sites, and we do not have access to them. We'd be glad to review your content, help you find photos, etc. befor you give it to the departmental Web person to put on line. Many county Extension offices and some campus units are now developing their sites using Drupal, OSU's content management system, which allows departmental users to update their own pages. If that service is available to you, we recommend that you get Drupal training so you can manage your own departmental Web content.
Q. I'm a Sea Grant faculty member and I'd like to have my own site to promote my projects and my CV. Will you build it for me? Can I put it on the Sea Grant server?
A. We would be glad to point you to resources that will let you build your own site (or hire someone to do it for you), including your academic home department and the OSU ONID system, which provides free Web space to all university faculty, staff and students. Again, we'd be glad to link to it when it's ready.
Q. I'd like to create an electronic newsletter, write a blog, have a wiki for a research project, try out social networking, etc. Can you help?
A. Sure! OSU's Central Web Services is making a host of new online tools available to faculty and staff. We'd be glad to help you get started. Contact the webmaster for more information.
Q. I have a great idea for an interactive, animated, database-driven Web site. Can you build it?
A. We contract such sites to Central Web Services, which has the programmers and database engineers to do the work. Their charge is between $75-$100/hour. Please budget accordingly.
While some of these guidelines apply chiefly to single publications, we encourage faculty and staff to consider other ways they might use the Web to further their research, outreach and education aims. If you have an idea for a Sea Grant-related Web project, please contact us for advice about the best way to achieve your goal, whether it's a single Web page or an entire site.
For information about other options for Web publishing at OSU, please visit:
- ONID (faculty, staff and student personal sites)
- OSU Central Web Services (departmental and organizational site and Web development services.