Archive and publish with Aalto Repo archiving tool
Primarily submit to the service material that is complete, no longer accumulating, and publishable. This page explains the Aalto Repo archiving tool and how to submit material for publication and archiving.
Instructions for using the archiving tool
- Compile the files of the entity to be archived, along with their associated information. The entity can consist of, for example, a single project, course, artistic work, exhibition, or event. In the archiving tool, this entity becomes a collection.
- The required information are, for example, the creator(s), dates, a brief description of the material and its context, and the project or event name.
- Familiarise yourself with the terms of the Donation Agreement and Usage Licenses.
- If the entity includes outputs from several different creators (e.g., an exhibition, course, or project), you can invite them to add their materials to the same collection in the archiving tool.
- Contact the archives: To create and describe a new collection, you first need to ask permission to access the Archiving Tool. Send your request to Aalto University Archives: arkisto(at)aalto.fi
- Open the collection in the Archiving Tool: The archives will share a link with you to a new collection which you can edit following the next steps.
- You now have the collection owner role in the Archiving Tool.
- Fill in the collection’s metadata using the form. Required fields are marked with an asterisk (∗). The Info button contains field-specific instructions.
- Name the collection (Title)∗: Give the collection a name, e.g., the name of the event, project, or course.
- Describe the collection (Description): Describe what the collection is about: describe the course, project, event, exhibition, or other context in which the collection’s items were created.
- Notes for the archive (Notes): If you wish, add additional information or notes about the collection for the archive’s material handler; this information will not be visible in the system.
- Year, earliest (Year from): The date of the oldest item to be archived, expressed as a year, e.g., 2024.
- Year, latest (Year to): The date of the most recent item to be archived, expressed as a year, e.g., 2026.
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Save (Save): Click Save to save the collection. You can click Save & New if you want to create another new collection right after.
(∗ compulsory field)
- If you want to invite another person or multiple people to add their own outputs to the collection, click Sharing in the top-right corner after saving the collection.
- From the Access menu, select Read/Write permissions for the person with whom the collection is shared.
- In the User menu, search by name for the people with whom the collection will be shared.
- Share and send notifications: Click the button to send an invitation to the selected people; you can also add instructions or a comment to the invitation.
- Adding a file: Add a file to the collection by clicking Create New Collection Asset on the right. An “asset” is a single file in the archiving tool, which is described in more detail using this form.
- Fill in the asset’s metadata using the form. Required fields are marked with an asterisk (∗). The Info button contains field-specific instructions. Below are instructions for each field visible on the form.
- Title ∗ : Enter a short descriptive name for the file in Finnish or English.
- Content Type ∗ : From the menu, select the type of file to be archived: image, text, video, audio.
- Creator: Enter the creator’s name in the format: Surname, First name. One name per field only.
- Creator: If the item has multiple creators, enter the next creator’s name in the format: Surname, First name. One name per field only.
- Creator: If the item has multiple creators, enter the next creator’s name in the format: Surname, First name. One name per field only. If there are more creators, continue adding their names in the Description field.
- Asset Created Year ∗ : The date of the item at year-level precision, e.g., 2026.
- Place: Add the related locality/city, e.g., Espoo.
- Degree Programme: If the item to be archived is related to an Aalto degree programme, search for it by name in the menu.
- Publicity: Public is selected by default. Material submitted with the Archiving Tool should be public.
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License ∗ : Select the item’s usage license, which defines the terms of use for others:
Available usage licenses include Creative Commons and Rights Statements licenses:
CC BY (Attribution): Read the license terms: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.fi The Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 license permits sharing, using, and adapting the work, including for commercial purposes, provided the original author(s) are credited. If the work is modified, the changes must be indicated.
CC BY-NC-ND (Attribution – NonCommercial – NoDerivatives): Read the license terms: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/deed.fi The Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license allows the work to be shared, provided the original author(s) are credited. The work may not be modified or used for commercial purposes.
InC-EDU (Use permitted for educational purposes): Read the license terms: https://rightsstatements.org/page/InC-EDU/1.0/?language=fi The RightsStatements.org InC-EDU 1.0 designation means the work is under copyright, but it may be used in educational institutions and for teaching purposes.
- Description in English: Description in English: Describe in English the subject of the item, such as the output and its significance, the situation, and any associated people or places.
- Description in Finnish: Describe in Finnish the subject of the item, such as the output and its significance, the situation, and any associated people or places.
- Identifier: If the item has a unique or persistent identifier, add it here, e.g., a DOI.
- Upload file ∗ : Select the file to be uploaded; the upload will start automatically. The file may be up to 2 GB. Allowed file types are .png, .jpg, .pdf, .jpeg, .tif, .tiff, .mp4, .avi, .mov, .mpeg, .mpg, .mp3, .wav.
- Read & Approve Agreement: Open the Deposit Agreement document. Read the terms and accept them by clicking at the end of the last page: “I have read and approve the agreement.”
- Save: Click Save. Choose Save & New if you want to continue immediately by uploading a new file to the same collection.
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If you proceeded to save a new item, you can copy the previous metadata by selecting (Copy Previous Record).
(∗ compulsory field)
- When the collection is complete and no more material will be added, submit it for approval.
- Select Submit for Approval in the top-right corner of the collection view. You can add a comment or message that will be visible to the people with whom the collection is shared.
- If the collection is approved, you will receive a confirmation email with the message “Your collection has been approved.”
- If the collection is rejected, you will likely need to add some information. In this case, you will receive an email titled “Your collection has been rejected,” which includes more detailed instructions on what you need to do next.
- If you added your own files to the collection, you will receive an email titled “Your assets have been approved,” listing the files you uploaded and their details.
- A copy of your deposit agreement, containing information about all the materials transferred, is also attached to the emails.
- Material submitted with the archiving tool will next be processed in the Aalto Repository. During processing, the material is not yet public.
- The material will be searchable, viewable, and downloadable once it is published on the websites: repo.aalto.fi and aaltoarkisto.finna.fi
- No separate notification of publication will be sent to the collection owner or the depositors of the items.
Aalto Repository
Aalto Repository (Aalto Repo) is a system designed for the long-term preservation, management, and presentation of digital content. The system ensures the usability and accessibility of the...
Material that can be submitted with the tool
With the Aalto Repo Archiving Tool, you can submit for archiving and publication material created and accumulated by members of the Aalto community during, and as a result of, their work, research, and studies. Other digital material related to the university’s history can also be accepted through the archiving tool.
- An Aaltonian's own materials
- Shared Aalto materials (projects, course work, exhibitions, etc.)
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Materials related to the history of Aalto University
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Accepted file formats
You can submit the following file formats with the Archiving Tool:
| Image | jpg, png, tif |
| Text | |
| Video | mp4, mov, avi, mpg |
| Sound | mp3, wav |
Maximum file size 2 GB.
Archiving and long-term preservation
The preservation and publication of material submitted for storage via the archiving tool is the responsibility of Aalto University’s Records Management Services. The material is stored in Aalto University’s archive and in the long-term preservation and archiving system managed by Aalto ITS, the Aalto Repository. Aalto Repository is a system provided by Preservica Ltd that ensures the usability of digital materials over the long term, even as technical environments change over time.
Public availability of the material, usage rights, and personal data
As a rule, the archiving tool is intended for submitting material that can be published in open online services for use by students, researchers, and the general public. The Aalto Repository has a public interface at repo.aalto.fi for searching, viewing, and downloading material. Material is also harvested via interfaces into the aaltoarkisto.finna.fi and Finna.fi search services, providing broad accessibility.
When depositing material, the creators accept the deposit agreement and define the usage rights of the material. It is advisable to review the deposit agreement in advance:Donation Agreement.
The processing of personal data related to the materials is described in the Privacy Notice of the Archive and Records Management Services.
Description of the material
To ensure the usability and long-term comprehensibility of the material, it must be described with the essential information. In the archiving tool, it is easy to describe material using a ready-made description form that includes all the information needed for archiving and publication:
- Title of the material or output
- Creators
- Date/period
- Place
- Degree programme
- Description of the material’s context and content
- Usage license
Searching and using Aalto Repository's content
The public content of the Aalto Repository (Aalto Repo) is available for search, viewing, and downloading through the system's search portal. This page provides detailed instructions on the usage...
