FAQ

What is SavifaDok?

SavifaDok, the digital repository of Savifa - the Virtual Library South Asia, is an electronic platform for publishing and archiving academic literature in South Asian studies and Indology.
SavifaDok is a joint service of the Library of the South Asia Institute in Heidelberg in co-operation with the University Library Heidelberg and offers persons with a research interest in South Asia the possibility to publish their work in electronic format and make it available through the World Wide Web. The documents will be stored and their long-term availability guaranteed by using standardized addresses.

How can I publish documents?

The file upload of all documents will be carried out by the staff of Savifa. So if you want to publish on SavifaDok, please contact the Savifa staff.
In order to publish your work, we need your signed copyright agreement, your document in electronic format (PDF-files are preferred) and a brief abstract (max. 5,000 characters), preferably in German and English or English only. For more information, please read Publishing.

Which file formats can be saved?

We prefer documents in PDF-format, but it is also possible to submit PostScript or HTML versions. If necessary, a document needs to be converted into one of these formats before we can upload the file on SavifaDok.
The Library of the South Asia Institute reserves the right to convert documents into another file format, e.g. for technical reasons.

Is there a possibility to modify or delete documents on SavifaDok?

With regard to long-term availability a modification or deletion of the document is not intended. Only by the explicit request of the author will the staff of Savifa delete a document. Generally, modifications of a publication are possible and the modified version of the publication will be uploaded as a new, revised edition.

What does long-term availability mean?

Efforts will be undertaken to store documents permanently, at least for a minimum of five years.

Can the documents be quoted in academic work?

Similar to print publications online documents can be quoted in academic work without any problems. Documents published on SavifaDok are assigned a Uniform Resource Name (URN), which guarantees a unique and permanent identification of digital objects, independent from their storage location. Thus, the citation of an URN is a reliable way of a long term reference for digital objects. The citation of online publications vary according the subject area. Here, you should observe the rules of your own subject area.

In which databases, catalogues and search engines will the documents be referenced?

Publications on SavifaDok are referenced in the following databases, library catalogues and search engines:

  • Union Catalogue of the South-West German Library Consortium (SWB)
  • Karlsruhe Virtual Catalogue (KVK)
  • WWW search engines (e.g. Google)
  • OAIster (Union catalogue of digitial resources)
  • The local library catalogue of Heidelberg University Library (HEIDI)
  • The acquisition lists of the Special Subject Collection "South Asia"

How can the documents be viewed and printed?

Since most documents published on SavifaDok are PDF-files, you need the Adobe Acrobat Reader. For PostScript-Files you need Ghostscript (PostScript-Interpreter) and Ghostview (User interface for Ghostscript).
For viewing images and audio- and video-files you need special software tools. Please bear in mind, that the staff of Savifa cannot assist you in procuring or installing those tools.
On condition that the author has agreed before, the Print-on-Demand service ProPrint is entitled to make a printed copy of the document. Proprint was developed during a project at the State and University Library Göttingen and the Humboldt University Berlin, sponsored by the Deutsches Forschungsnetz. Proprint provides central printing, delivering and billing services. The user/buyer takes the full cost. The first page of the document will inform you if Print-on-Demand is possible.

What about illegal copying and usage of SavifaDok documents?

Documents on the Web are there to be distributed and copied. To use them without making reference to them or to use them for commercial purposes without paying royalties is illegal. This means that basically there is no more danger of copyright violations with electronic documents than with any other form of publication.

How is this usage statistics generated and how is it to be interpreted?

For generating the usage statistics a method is employed that is based on the web service Open Access Statistics. The pre-aggregation of the figures is made on the basis of pseudonymous IP addresses at the head office of the German library network Gemeinsamer Bibliotheksverbund (VZG / GBV). Subsequently, the numbers are processed at UB Heidelberg. Access to multiple files linked to the same front page are added up.

The counting method follows the internationally recognized COUNTER Code of Practice. Accordingly hits from popular search engines and their crawlers, as well as of systems with conventional search engine query behaviour will not be considered. Furthermore, repeated access to a document from the same IP address (to which multiple users can be connected via a proxy server) needs to be a specified minimum period of time apart, in order to be counted separately.